India and South Africa will see this as a perfect opportunity to test themselves before the T20I World Cup in Australia.
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Now that the Indian Premier League (IPL) season is behind us, it’s time for international cricket. In an exciting series, Team India will take on South Africa for five T20Is at home. They will play the first match on June 9 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The second T20I will be played at Cuttack on June 12. The third match will be held on June 14 at Visakhapatnam. While Gujarat hosts the fourth match of the series on June 17, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru will be the venue for the fifth and final match. India, the number one T20 side in the world, and South Africa, the fourth-ranked team, will see this as a perfect opportunity to test themselves before the T20I World Cup in Australia.
India will be without some of their big players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. This will test the team’s bench strength and will also be an opportunity for some exciting youngsters to make a name on the international stage. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, the team will be led by KL Rahul, who had a good campaign as a player and skipper for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2022. South Africa will be led by Temba Bavuma and their squad have some players who impressed in the recently concluded IPL. While players like Quinton de Kock and David Miller played key roles for their side with the bat, Kagiso Rabada was Punjab Kings’ go-to man for wickets. This will be an intriguing contest between two of the best T20I sides in the world.
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Rahul had a memorable season in the IPL with LSG and will be looking to continue his form as a player and captain. He was the top scorer of the franchise this season and amassed 616 runs in 15 matches. He can get over his disappointment of not making it further than the playoffs by winning a series as the skipper of the national side. Rahul is one of the key players on the side and will have a crucial role to play.
Like KL Rahul, his LSG opening partner de Kock had a memorable season in the recently concluded IPL. He is well used to the conditions in India and can be devastating on his day. He scored 508 runs in 15 matches for LSG and was one of the key players for the franchise. de Kock will be the most crucial batter for the South African team considering the form he was in.
Although Rajasthan Royals (RR) ended up on the losing side in the final of IPL 2022, they had a mix of team and individual brilliance right throughout the season. Talking about individual brilliance, they had the services of Yuzvendra Chahal, who scalped 27 wickets and became the purple cap holder. Chahal is a kind of a bowler who can spring a surprise at any moment. He is a key weapon in India’s bowling attack and South Africa will be wary of the threat he possesses.
