India is currently on a 12-match winning streak in T20Is and a win in Delhi will set a new world record for the most consecutive wins in T20Is.
After two months of playing the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, the cricketers are all set to return to national duty, with their first assignment post IPL being the South Africa series at home.
The Indian team will welcome the Proteas for a five-match T20I series which will commence on June 9 at the Arjun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi.
The BCCI, for this series, has rested their star players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah. KL Rahul will be leading the side in the absence of the regular captain.
Talking about India's performance, they are currently on a 12-match winning streak in T20Is. A win in Delhi will set a new world record for the most consecutive wins in T20Is.
Rahul had led the new IPL team Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) recently to the Playoffs. A lot will be riding on his shoulder, especially as the South African side is sending their A team.
1. Kagiso Rabada vs KL Rahul
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One key battle will be between skipper KL Rahul and South African pacer Kagiso Rabada. In the IPL 2022, Rahul breached the 600-run mark for the 4th time in five years. The right-hander boasts an impressive average of 40.68 striking the ball at 142.49. He also has two centuries to his name in T20Is.
Talking about Kagiso Rabada, he had finished as the third-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2022 with 23 wickets. The 26-year-old is just one wicket short of reaching 50 wickets in T20Is for South Africa.
2. Ishan Kishan vs Anrich Nortje
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Surely Ishan Kishan's IPL 2022 season ended with 418 runs to his name for Mumbai Indians (MI), but the opener will look to emulate the good form that he showed against Sri Lanka before the IPL.
Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje, who had joined the Delhi Capitals (DC) late as he was nursing an injury. While he was not in his top form at the start of the league, he regained it and was ruthless against the batters as he ended up taking nine wickets in six games in IPL 2022.
3. Rishabh Pant vs Tabraiz Shamsi
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India's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant recently came under scrutiny due to some questionable calls as captain for Delhi Capitals (DC). Despite that, the southpaw did enjoy a decent season as he scored 340 runs at a strike above 150.
However, he will be facing Tabraiz Shamsi, who is the top-ranked bowler in T20Is. The South African was the joint highest wicket-taker in T20Is in 2021 having 36 wickets in 22 matches.
4. Harshal Patel vs David Miller
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Gujarat Titans (GT) who won their maiden IPL title saw an impressive performance by David Miller. The dasher scored 481 runs and the 'Killer Miller' as he is famously known, will be South Africa’s key batter in the upcoming series.
But he will be also facing Harshal Patel, who finished the season with 19 wickets going below eight runs per over in IPL 2022.
5. Yuzvendra Chahal vs Aiden Markram
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Aiden Markram is another Proteas batter who scored 381 runs for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), averaging 47.63.
He will be facing IPL 2022's leading wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal who took 27 wickets. The leggie was Rajasthan's most consistent bowler and his impressive performance rewarded him with a comeback to the Indian team.
