On Sunday (22nd September), the hosts India and the visitors South Africa will play the third and final T20I of the series at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru). The match will begin at 7:00 pm IST (19:00 IST).
Before this match, the Indian team is currently leading the series by 1-0. The opening match of this series at Dharamshala had no result due to the rain washout. India won the second T20I at Mohali by seven wickets (with six balls remaining).
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Match Preview
It is going to be the must-win game for South Africa as another winless result will help India to win the series. Inexperienced South African players need to improve their all-round performances on Sunday night. The team management may go for one or two changes in playing XI for the last game.
On the other hand, India are in the safest position in this series. However, the host side will definitely try to win this Bengaluru T20I too. The Indian team management is likely to make one or two changes in the playing XI.
Pitch Preview
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru) always produces the batting-friendly tracks in T20 cricket. Apart from the good bounce and carry, the smaller boundaries also become the crucial factor in this venue.
Weather Forecast
Rain can play the spoilsport during this game. While it is the night game, the weather will be mostly cloudy. There are 30%-50% chances of raining in every hour. The temperature is likely to stay between 24-26 degree Celsius.
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Stats Preview
i) Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma will play his 98th T20I match. He will become India’s joint most-capped T20I player. MS Dhoni has also played 98 T20Is.
ii) Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has scored 6,996 runs in T20 career and he is four runs away to complete his 7,000 T20 runs. He will be the fourth Indian batsman and 15th overall batsman to reach the 7,000 runs milestone.
iii) Indian star batsman Virat Kohli has scored 872 home T20I runs. The right-handed batsman is 19 runs away to become the second most run-scorer in the home T20I history. New Zealand cricketer Colin Munro is currently in the second position with 890 home T20I runs. Another New Zealand cricketer Martin Guptill is leading this table with 1,227 T20I runs at home.
iv) Indian pace-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya has taken 14 T20I wickets at home, which is the joint-second most home T20I wickets for an Indian pace bowler. Former Indian left-arm pacer Ashish Nehra also took 14 home wickets in T20I career. Another wicket will help Hardik to surpass Nehra in this list. However, another pacer Jasprit Bumrah is in the top position in this list with 24 T20I wickets at home.
v) South African T20I captain and wicketkeeper-batsman, Quinton de Kock has scored 4,988 runs in T20 career. The left-handed batsman needs to score 12 more runs to reach the 5,000 runs milestone. Till the date, five South African cricketers have scored 5,000+ T20 runs.
Where to watch
Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD will present this game live with the English commentary. Meanwhile, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 3 HD will provide the live Hindi commentary.
Hotstar will provide live streaming in several languages.