The Indian Premier League is about to end. What is exciting is there is much more T20 action left as there many tours to different countries to play the shortest format of the game. It also marks the beginning of preparation for the T20 World Cup 2022 to be held in Australia in October. Here in this article, we talk about South Africa Tour oT India.
For the starter, we have a series against South Africa starting from June 9. The teams are already announced and preparations are already done. This also marks one of the most prolific records for team India. If India wins the first T20I, it will break the world record for most consecutive T20I wins by any team. Starting from T20 World Cup 2020, India has not lost a single match. This includes 3 home series against New Zealand, West Indies, and Sri Lanka where Team India managed to clean sweep victory in all of them.
South Africa’s strengths as they visit India
South Africa announced its 16 Member Squad for T20Is against India which includes many players who were part of IPL 2022 and are currently in the country. If we were to look at SA it has powerful names in the captain Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Rasi van der Dussen, and Marco Janssen, among others. They have an experienced side with a good touch of youngsters who will bring freshness to the side and try things out of the box.
David Miller, Quinton de Kock, Kgidi, Nortje, and Rabada have played a great role in their teams reaching good positions in the IPL and are aware of the conditions of the subcontinent. The weather and pitches won’t frizzle them out like other tourists and it will be a big advantage for them as they share their knowledge with the rest of the team. Bavuma, Keshav Maharaj, and van der Dussen have shown great performances in the previous series and will look on to continue with the same.
What should India focus on in the first match to make the world record?
It has been a niche for India to win series after series at home. There is no hesitation in saying that India has amongst the strongest bench of all cricket-playing nations in the world. Even if its top two batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli miss the series, they still have plenty of good players who are waiting to make the best of the opportunity. But South Africa is coming with a lethal bowling attack that may give hard time to Indian batters. They bowl in control and have great speed. Coming from IPL they understand Indian players’ techniques and that will further help them. The batters should be wary of their bowling lineup.
India may have included Umran Malik and Arshdeep in their squad, but their fast bowling attack is relatively inexperienced. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar leading, they only have Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel who themselves have not played many matches on the international platform. They will miss Jasprit Bumrah in action dearly.
The team is a new combination as most players are picked based on their IPL performances. With a new captain in hand and youngsters debuting, it will be another responsibility of the coach staff and captain to make players understand the dynamics of the team and follow a motto. Cricket is a game of team effort and we should have a team that has good coordination when they are on the field.
Currently, Afghanistan holds the record for most consecutive T20I wins. It is a great opportunity for India to put another feather to its cap and win the next match, making it a world record of 13 consecutive T20 international wins. We are all looking forward to it. All the best to both the teams!
