India vs South Africa 2019: 3 changes India can consider making for the 3rd T20I

Team India put on a clinical performance in the second T20I against South Africa at Mohali to clinch the match by seven wickets. Indian captain Virat Kohli led from the front with an unbeaten 72 from 52 balls, during the course of which he also became the leading run-scorer in T20 internationals, overtaking Rohit Sharma.

There was further good news for India as struggling opener Shikhar Dhawan got some crucial runs, scoring a fluent 40 from 31 balls before being dismissed off a spectacular catch from David Miller. Deepak Chahar impressed with the ball for India, finishing with figures of 2 for 22.

As for South Africa, they were left to regret throwing away a great platform. Skipper Quinton de Kock made a breezy 52 from 37 balls, laying the foundations for a big score. However, from 88 for 1 in the 12th over, South Africa endured a spectacular collapse and finished at 149 for 5, with Temba Bavuma (49) making the only other significant contribution.

1-0 🇮🇳🇮🇳 #TeamIndia wrap the 2nd T20I by 7 wickets #INDvSA @paytm pic.twitter.com/GW0FBddf3k

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 18, 2019

The teams now head to Bengaluru for the third and final T20I at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. While India need to win the game to seal the series, they could be inclined to make some changes to see how things stand keeping the World T20 in mind.

Here are three changes India can consider making for the 3rd T20I:

#1 Move Shreyas Iyer to 4 and drop Rishabh Pant down the order

Shreyas Iyer

The pressure on Rishabh Pant is growing with every failure. Even coach Ravi Shastri has made it clear that Pant needs to pull up his socks. At Mohali, Pant played a silly shot to throw away his wicket after scoring just 4 runs. It is obviously too early to write him off completely, but from what has been on display in the last two series, the #4 spot seems at least one position too high for Pant, who has consistently faltered in that position.

In contrast, Shreyas Iyer did well in that position in the ODIs in West Indies, scoring consecutive fifties. In Mohali, he played a handy cameo of 16 to take the pressure off Virat Kohli. Thus, it wouldn't be a bad idea to push him up to number four and drop Pant down the order.

Also see – World Test Championship points table

#2 Draft Manish Pandey into the middle order

Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey might not have set the international stage on fire as yet, but those who have seen him perform in the IPL over the last decade know he is a special talent. He even has a one-day hundred against Australia to his name. Having him in the T20 squad and not playing him is a complete waste of his talent. However, the biggest question is where he fits into the side.

Pandey could replace Krunal Pandya, who delivered just one over for seven runs in Mohali. India have a plethora of options in the bowling department with the likes of Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya in their ranks.

As a result, Pandey can replace Krunal Pandya in the lineup and can be used as a floater in the middle order depending on the situation of the match.

#3 Rahul Chahar for Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar

Young off-spinner Washington Sundar has done a reasonable job for India in the few T20Is that he has played. In 11 games, he has claimed 12 wickets at an average of 20.08.

However, he hasn't contributed anything substantial in recent games. He has only four wickets to his name in his last six T20I matches, and has remained wicketless in the last two. Opening the bowling at Mohali, he did not trouble the South African top-order too much. Had it not been for Deepak Chahar's top-notch display at the start, Quinton de Kock and co. could have put India under some serious pressure.

India have picked another young spinner, Rahul Chahar, in the squad and he could be tried out for the third game. South Africa have traditionally struggled against leg-spin, so it makes sense to bring Rahul into the side.

Rahul is more than handy with the bat as well, as evidenced by his 84-run knock for India A against Sri Lanka A earlier this year.