India vs South Africa 5th T20I Predicted Playing XIs: Will captain Rishabh Pant step up for India today?

Ind vs SA 1st T20I Playing XI Prediction: It has been a tricky few days for Rishabh Pant. With KL Rahul ruled out of the series on the evening before the first match, Pant was appointed Pant; he was heavily criticised for his decision-making in India’s first two losses. In the ongoing series against South Africa, Pant has not been able to make a mark with his willow. He has scored 29, 5, 6, and 17 in the last 4 matches.

After India crushed South Africa by 82 runs in the fourth game, Pant too admitted that there are “certain areas” in his batting that he needs to improve.

Rajkot ✈️ Bengaluru

Excitement levels 🆙 for the final @Paytm #INDvSA T20I. 👌 👌#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/7DirHt49sG

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2022

“As an individual, I can look to improve in certain areas. Not too concerned though. Looking to take the positives and looking to improve. Let’s see what happens in Bangalore. Looking forward to giving our 100 per cent,” said Pant in the post-match presentation on Friday night.

Neither has Pant’s captaincy been exceptional nor has his similar pattern of dismissals inspired confidence but India have somehow managed to pull through.

In the series, India has fielded an identical XI, which is in sync with Rahul Dravid’s “school of continuity”, seen the nadir in the first two games, only to break its own record of highest margin of victories over the Proteas — by 47 runs in the third game and by 82 runs in the fourth.

Clinical win for #TeamIndia in Rajkot! 👏 👏

The @RishabhPant17-led unit beat South Africa by 82 runs to level the series 2-2. 🙌 🙌

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/9Mx4DQmACq #INDvSA | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/fyNIlEOJWl

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 17, 2022

The series hasn’t been one of India’s best but somehow, just like top teams do, the ‘Men In Blue’ have found their way out to win matches under pressure. That augurs well as Pant and his men aim to wrap up the series in Bengaluru.

Pitch Report

M Chinnaswamy Stadium is known for producing the belter, courtesy their small boundaries. But it hasn’t hosted any white-ball cricket since before the pandemic. With heavy rain on Friday night, and drizzle throughout Saturday there’s a 70 per cent chance of rain on match day.

Squads

India Squad: Rishabh Pant(WK/C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Umran Malik

South Africa: Temba Bavuma(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Wayne Parnell, Lungi Ngidi, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs

Predicted XIs

India XI: Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal

South Africa XI: South Africa Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks (c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Dwaine Pretorius, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj (c), Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi