"Rishabh Pant is the big question" - Aakash Chopra on his expectations from Team India batters in the 4th T20I vs South Africa

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Team India will expect a few more runs from Rishabh Pant's willow in the fourth T20I against South Africa.

The fourth game of the five-match series will be played in Rajkot on Friday, June 17. Pant, the stand-in Indian skipper, has had an underwhelming series thus far, having scored just 40 runs at a dismal average of 13.33.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra spoke about his expectations from the Indian batting lineup in Friday's game. He said the following about Pant:

"Rishabh Pant is the big question. He will have to score a few more runs. He played a slightly significant knock in the first match, short but quick, which did the job but after that, he hasn't really looked the same Rishabh Pant. Interestingly, he is a class player in Tests but it keeps going up and down for him in T20s."

The former Indian opener feels Ishan Kishan will be the focus of attention. Aakash Chopra reasoned:

"Ishan Kishan will be once again in focus because he has continuously played very well in this series till now. The fourth innings could be an interesting one because four continuous incredible knocks do not come always."

Kishan has smashed 164 runs at an excellent strike rate of 157.69 in the three T20Is thus far. He will hope to continue in the same vein to cement his place in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup later this year.

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"The pitches on the western side suit him" - Aakash Chopra on Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad played a blazing knock in the third T20I [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra feels the Rajkot pitch will be to Ruturaj Gaikwad's liking. He elaborated:

"Ruturaj Gaikwad played beautifully in the previous game. I thought he was absolutely sensational. The Anrich Nortje over in which five fours were hit, one ball hit him on his head as well, but he played really well. He didn't get flustered, the pickup shots were very beautiful. The pitches on the western side suit him."

While observing that Shreyas Iyer will hope to play a substantial knock, the reputed commentator does not see any changes in the Indian batting department. Chopra stated:

"Shreyas Iyer would be actually hoping to get a big one. Hardik Pandya, of course, is batting well. I don't see any other change in the batting, Dinesh Karthik is also going to be there here."

Shreyas has scored 90 runs in the three T20Is to date, with a top score of 40. While he has taken the Proteas spinners to the cleaners, he has been kept on a tight leash by their pacers.