IND vs SA: India have had a forgettable start to the five-match T20I series against South Africa as the visitors romped the home side to a 7-wickets defeat in the opening game on Thursday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi.
Batting first, India batters did a fantastic job to put up a massive total of 211/4 in 20 overs. However, the bowlers failed to defend the total as the Proteas completed the chase with five balls to spare and seven wickets in hand.
Now, India will be up against the visitors once again in the 2nd T20I on Sunday at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. So, here we will talk about the three changes the Men in Blue could make to get back to the winning ways in the IND vs SA encounter.
1. Better management of resources
Rishabh Pant failed to utilize his bowlers properly in the first game as Yuzvendra Chahal did bowl only 2.1 overs in the first game. While the leg-spinner did prove expensive in his first two overs, he has ample experience to bounce back. However, Rishabh Pant failed to trust the master legspinner enough and Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t complete his bowling quota. Pant has to do better with his decision-making and take some bold calls subsequently.
2. Bring Arshdeep Singh in place of Avesh Khan
Undoubtedly, Avesh Khan is a talented pacer who is trying to make his mark in international cricket. But he is not a good death bowler. India need to reinforce their death bowling and bring in Arshdeep Singh in place of Avesh Khan. The Punjab Kings’ bowler will add variety to the Indian pace bowling as he could work his left-arm angle with the new ball, while he has already proved his worth at the death in the Indian Premier League.
3. Play Deepak Hooda in place of Shreyas Iyer
The Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper made an explosive beginning to his innings against the spinners in the last game. However, once the pace bowlers were introduced, the right-handed batter failed to get going and lost all the momentum.
At the same time, Deepak Hooda was in tremendous form during the IPL and he faced both pacers and spinners with equal ease and maintained a healthy strike rate. The LSG all-rounder could take the attacking momentum forward with the bat and he also will provide an extra bowling option against the left-handers present in the Proteas batting unit.
