South Africa vs India, 3rd T20I Predicted XI: Will India drop Abhishek Sharma?

India and South Africa are set to lock horns in the third game of the four-match T20I series on Wednesday, November 13 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

For India, the pressure is on Abhishek Sharma, who hasn’t had a knock of substance to his name barring his century against Zimbabwe back in July. If the left-handed batter does not play, India need to think of an appropriate opening partner for Sanju Samson, who has been in the form of his life, having notched consecutive hundreds in T20Is.

Suryakumar Yadav has the experience of opening the batting in four T20Is with a top score of 76 to his name. If Abhishek doesn’t play, it could open the doors for Jitesh Sharma or Ramandeep Singh, who is yet to make his international debut.

In the fast bowling department, India might bring in either Yash Dayal or Vijaykumar Vyshak, who are both yet to don the national colours.

As far as South Africa are concerned, they may not tinker with their winning combination. Reeza Hendricks, who replaced Patrick Kruger in the previous game, fell cheaply, but it is unlikely that he will be dropped from the playing XI.

The pitch at the SuperSport Park in Centurion is expected to be a bowler’s graveyard. The average score from 14 T20Is at the venue is around the 190-run mark. India don’t have a great record at the venue, having lost the only match they have played.

Predicted XI for 3rd India vs South Africa T20I

India

Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma/Ramandeep Singh, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Avesh Khan/Yash Dayal

South Africa

Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter