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Two days after it started, both sides’ best
opportunity to prepare for the T20 World Cup on the international circuit will
end just like that. So far, what has been discovered? We could only summarise
what we could from South Africa’s 13.5 overs and India’s 19.3 overs of batting,
which is that Suryakumar Yadav’s shots over the wicketkeeper are some of the
most entertaining in Twenty20 cricket.
At the next T20 World Cup, Reeza Hendricks will bat
first for South Africa, no matter who his opening partner is.
As far as India’s finisher goes, Rinku Singh is
leading the race, and Tabraiz Shamsi has developed into a T20 banker.
That’s not too awful in a series when there was
complete flooding during the first game and some rain during the second.
This implies that we haven’t seen a complete Twenty20
match yet, and the major hope is that the Wanderers will provide one. Even if
it does, neither team is playing at maximum capacity, and South Africa has
further depleted their resources by releasing Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen
to participate in the local four-day match in order to prepare for the Tests
later in the tour. As a result, they will field an inexperienced pace attack.
Deepak Chahar, who has stayed at home for personal reasons, means that India is
also without a vital player. In the wet circumstances at St George’s Park, both
sets of seamers found it difficult to be consistent and will aim to get their
disciplines right in the decider. They need look no further than Mohammed
Siraj, whose lines were exemplary, as an example.
Despite their outstanding performances in Gqeberha,
the spinners are unlikely to receive much support in Johannesburg and may find
themselves at the centre of batting lineups that feature both headlining
attractions. Hendricks’ recent run of form has seen him average 51.50 in his 12
T20Is, and India’s middle-order duo of Rinku and Suryakumar is quite potent.
While the T20 World Cup may be on the minds of all three of them, India’s
acting captain isn’t expressing it.
He has told his players to “go out and enjoy
yourself,” and as Thursday is the eve of South Africa’s state holiday
commemorating the Springboks Rugby World Cup victory, who would dare argue?