India have made a solitary change to their Playing XI by benching all-rounder Axar Patel for their imminent third Super 12 match against South Africa in Perth. In what is going to be their first-ever T20I at the Optus Stadium, India weren’t expected to make such a change for an important match.
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“We will bat. It’s a good surface. We know what to expect and what to do on this pitch. We had a [practice] camp at the WACA [before the Super 12s]. Helped us get used to the bounce for both batters and the bowlers,” India captain Rohit Sharma told the broadcaster at the toss.
Been pretty unfortunate during their rain-abandoned clash against Zimbabwe in Hobart, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma rightly termed the contest as a “big game” from their perspective. Bavuma, who considers conditions at this venue to be similar to the ones back home, wanted to bat first as well like his counterpart.
“Big game for us. Have had a good start to the tournament. It’s a big opportunity to test our skills against a strong Indian team. We would have probably batted as well, could be slightly tough to bat under lights, but we now need to bowl well and restrict them to a low score,” Bavuma told the broadcaster at the toss.
Why is Axar Patel not playing today vs South Africa?
It is worth mentioning that Patel has been left out for all-rounder Deepak Hooda. Although his batting position remains unknown for now, Hooda has batted twice (out of nine T20I innings) at No. 7 in this format.
While Sharma wasn’t asked about the rationale behind the move, it appears that India have made a bold change to both lengthen their batting lineup on a surface which offers a lot to the pacers and counter the presence of as many as five left-handed batters in the South African Playing XI.
Hooda, who will be playing an international match after seven and a half weeks, will be partnering fellow off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as India’s second spin-bowling option tonight. For the unversed, it is a rarity for India to take the field in a T20I without either a left-arm spinner or a leg-spinner.
South Africa, on the other hand, have also made a lone change to their Playing XI by bringing in fast bowler Lungi Ngidi for spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.
