When one talks about India and South Africa battles, the first thing that springs to mind is the recent World T20 final which was pure ecstasy for a nation decorated in blue and possibly one of the most bitter pills to swallow for a country that epitomizes all the colours of the rainbow.
The scenes were indeed epic as the blue brigade marched through the Kensington Oval with smiles and pride galore which was in sharp contrast to the men in green and gold who looked rather bleak with teary eyes, reeling from yet another missed opportunity albeit this time in a prestigious final.
Perhaps a story the Protea fans have all but made peace with since time immemorial. Having said this, that episode is water under the bridge now as these two powerhouses of world cricket once again are set to do battle in Protea land starting this evening.
Yes, the T20I season is back with India challenging the Protea might in four key battles spread across the length and breadth of the land touted as the economic motor of Southern Africa.
These two iconic nations have battled each other on 27 occasions in T20I cricket with India holding the edge of beating the Proteas 15 times vis-à-vis coming up short on 11 occasions with one match resulting in a no-contest.
Undoubtedly a proud statistic if you are an Indian fan, and interestingly the first time India played the shortest format internationally was against South Africa way back in December 2006, with Dinesh Karthik flying the tri-colour high on that occasion.
So as another exhilarating battle between India and South Africa stirs up, lets look at some individual contests on the cards:
Keshav Maharaj vs Surya Kumar Yadav
The battle of the two lynchpins in their respective sides, Keshav Maharaj and captain Surya Kumar Yadav are as essential to their teams as water is to civilization. With 35 cherries already to his name, can Maharaj make SKY his 36th or will Yadav, a destructive hitter in his own right with a mighty fine strike rate of 169 deposit Keshav into the streets of Durban, the venue for the first match?
Whatever be the case, this battle will be one to remember.
Heinrich Klaasen vs Axar Patel
Unarguably, one of the most destructive batters not only in the South Africa ranks but world cricket, Heinrich Klassen will be itching to thwart all the Indian bowlers across the stands as he comes out of his self-imposed exile from international cricket post the ill-fated T20 World Cup final.
Challenging him will be none other than the tall left arm spinner from India in Axar Patel who has already ascended to 62 wickets and would look to increase this tally further on the spinning tracks in coastal South Africa.
This battle will undoubtedly be epic as Klaasen is one of the best players of spin and Patel is as wily as they come.
Tristan Stubbs v Yash Dayal
It didn’t help Yash Dayal one bit didn’t when he was carved by KKR’s Rinku Singh for big mega sixes in a truly unforgettable IPL game. So, the then Gujarat Titans bowler found it hard to stay relevant in the minds of the fans. Having said, Dayal worked hard to find a way to earn a call up as we see now where it comes to representing India.
On the other hand, thanks to his blazing white ball domestic cricket exploits, Tristan Stubbs, already a Test centurion for the national Proteas team struck dollops of definite scores in the IPL for Delhi Capitals. Since then, Stubbs has been an integral member of the men’s Proteas side. The 24-year-old is nearing 250 ODI runs with an average of 49 while he already has 557 T20I runs at a strike rate of 137.
While Dayal, 84 wickets from 27 first class games, will look for Stubbs’ wickets, Tristan would want to snub the medium pacer under the wood. Will that happen and who’ll see the upper hand in what promises to be an exciting battle between the white ball and the bat forms a key narrative of these games.
David Miller vs Arshdeep Singh
Will it be on the tree, if it’s in Miller’s V (aka, the hitting range)- we don’t know yet. Will it be out of the park, if the ball is bowled in Miller’s arc- we are yet to see?
But here’s what one knows.
A seasoned veteran of T20I cricket with almost 2,500 runs to his name, “Killer Miller” as he is fondly known will undeniably be itching to make his mark as he returns to international cricket.
The main stay of the middle order, Miller will be up against a young left armer seamer in Arshdeep Singh who is known to swing the cherry at the start of the innings and is equally adept in yorking batters as the innings reaches its twilight.
So, with Miller looking for the lust blows and Arashdeep looking to castle his stumps, this contest would also be worth every eye ball.
Marco Jansen vs Hardik Pandya
This is a battle between giants, one of whom is a giant, literally speaking and the other is a giant given his experience in the white ball short format given an experience of well over 100 T20 internationals.
Having said that, here is a key point to note.
With the battle of the two all-rounders in South Africa and India, this contest undoubtedly would be one for the ages as Marco, the budding all rounder will be locking horns with a proven matchwinning one. Pandya’s ability to navigate testing periods of time as a batter thanks to bouncy fast paced bowling is known to us all just as one knows Jansen’s talent at riling up the batters. We saw some of that in the Tests India played a couple of seasons ago in South Africa where none other than Jasprit Bumrah saw some furious pace and bounce. So the big question is, will Jansen be subjecting Pandya to the same? Who knows.
What one does know is that whether with the bat or ball, Marco and Hardik would want to one up the other as they will work as the vital cogs in their respective cricketing wheels to make things happen on the field.
The one who produces the results between these two giants, will undeniably pave the way for the series to come to their respective lands
