IND vs SA / Team India's litmus test against South Africa, top order test on bouncy pitch

IND vs SA: In the T20 World Cup, the match between India and South Africa will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday. Team India would like to secure their place in the semi-finals by winning this match. South Africa's challenge on the Perth pitch will not be easy for Team India. In this match, Team India's top order will have to give a tough test in front of fast bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Enrique Norcia. Both India and South Africa have played two matches in the tournament so far. India has won both its matches. While South Africa have won one match, one of their matches was canceled due to rain.

Team India's test on Perth's boom

The first matches in Perth were played at the WACA but now the matches are played at the newly built Optus Stadium. The stadium may have changed but the behavior of the pitch has not changed. The pitch here also has speed and bounce, which makes the batsmen face a tough challenge. In such a situation, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav will have a tough test in front of two dangerous fast bowlers of the world, Rabada and Norkia. Rabada specializes in swinging the ball at a speed of 145 km, while Norkia delivers the ball at a speed of 150 km. In such a situation, hand and eye coordination in the powerplay overs will be important to face these two bowlers.

Due to the extra bounce from the pitch, the batsmen will have less time to play shots and it will be interesting to see how the Indian batsmen react in such situations. Given the circumstances, Rishabh Pant would have been a good option to open the innings with Rohit but it is believed that head coach Rahul Dravid wants to retain the in-form KL Rahul in the playing 11. There is also an option to keep Pant in the playing 11 in place of Dinesh Karthik. Karthik's wicketkeeping was not as expected in the first two matches.

The previous series between India and South Africa was played on India's low bouncy pitches which were favorable for the batsmen. As far as South Africa's bowling combination is concerned, then one should not be surprised if they keep left-arm wrist spinner Tabrez Shamsi out. Marco Janssen or Lungi Ngidi can be included in the playing 11 in their place. Indian batsmen have played Shamsi with ease in the past and only two spinners can be kept at Optus Stadium to maintain the over-rate.

Both the teams for T20 World Cup

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Hooda.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Riley Rosso, Tristan Stubbs, Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Tabariz Shamsi, Marco Janssen, Enrique Norkia, Reeza Hendrix, Henrik Klaasen, Lungi Ngidi .