“If he gets faster, great for him. If I get faster, great for me.” – Anrich Nortjé on the uncapped Umran Malik.
Telford Vice | Cape Town
INDIA have the top batter, the top three bowlers, and two of the top three totals in their T20I series against South Africa. What the home side don’t have is the series lead. Thus they have no option: deny the South Africans victory in the penultimate match in Rajkot on Friday, or endure the charade of a dead rubber in Bangalore on Sunday.
The visitors kept composed heads under the pressure of a record chase to reel in a target of 212 in Delhi, and they were efficiency on legs in limiting the Indians to 148/6 in Cuttack. But India found their feet — in the first half of their innings and throughout South Africa’s — to pull one back by a record margin in Visakhapatnam.
Considering the format’s reputation for dishing up nothing but empty calorie cricket, this has been an intriguing rubber; more like a clash between skilled, disciplined welterweights than the heavyweight slugfests T20 was allegedly designed to deliver.
Ishan Kishan, the series’ leading run-scorer, has hit the ball fearsomely hard but with as much elegance as power. No-one has taken more wickets than Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal. Bhuvneshwar, in particular, has made for riveting viewing with his unfailing ability to make the ball do his bidding on a bespoke length.
The South African subplot has been no less gripping. David Miller’s matchwinning credentials are well established, but who would have thought Rassie van der Dussen would have batted his way out of the wet paper bag that was the initial stage of his innings to be Miller’s most valuable partner in Delhi? In Cuttack, Quinton de Kock’s absence because of a hand injury conjured an opportunity for Heinrich Klaasen — who took it in style, making his career-best score to put the visitors 2-0 up.
That India found way to bounce back in Vizag was a blessing: one dead rubber would be bad enough; two would have been an awfulness that this keenly contested series wouldn’t have deserved.
And here we are, on the eve of another instalment in the unfolding drama. This one might include De Kock, who was busy in the nets on Thursday — an indication that his hand has healed enough to hold a bat. Might it also feature the as yet uncapped Umran Malik, who lit up the IPL by taking 22 wickets in 14 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad, most of them with deliveries closer to 150 kilometres an hour than 140? Given India’s resurgence in Vizag, where their attack did most of the winning, that seems unlikely.
But De Kock versus Malik … wouldn’t that be something to see.
When: June 17, 2022; 7pm Local Time
Where: Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot
What to expect: Only three T20Is have been played here. In October 2013, Australia’s 201/7 wasn’t enough to stop India winning by six wickets. Four years later New Zealand’s 196/2 proved 40 runs too good for the home side. India won by eight wickets after restricting Bangladesh to 153/6. So there are runs in this pitch, but clever bowling can curb big scores.
Team news:
India: With the series on the line, it’s unlikely the hosts will hand out any debut caps just yet. Unless a last-minute injury concern strikes, India could go in with an unchanged line-up.
Possible XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal
South Africa: If Quinton de Kock returns, Reeza Hendricks is likely to sit out. Considering De Kock had a hand injury, Heinrich Klaasen might keep wicket. Aiden Markram has returned home after contracting Covid-19.
Possible XI: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortjé, Tabraiz Shamsi
What they said:
“I can’t worry about that because I can’t bowl as fast as Umran, plain and simple. I’ve never been an express fast bowler, so my focus has always been on developing skills around my bowling and whatever limitations and advantages I have. No matter how you do it, winning the game for the team is the ultimate goal.” — Harshal Patel on not trying to be Umran Malik.
“If he gets faster, great for him. If I get faster, great for me. I don’t think we’re competing to try and bowl the fastest ball. It’s about winning games and contributing.” — Anrich Nortjé on not trying to outgun Umran Malik.
First published by Cricbuzz.
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