India Playing XI vs South Africa – 5th T20I, South Africa Tour of India 2025:
Openers: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill
India would want to register back-to-back wins in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa to clinch another series in this format.
The Men in Blue have all their bases covered in the batting and bowling departments but are said to be concerned about the fitness of India’s vice-captain, Shubman Gill.
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Gill was ruled out of the fourth T20I, which was eventually abandoned due to excessive fog, and would be looking to recover in time for the series decider in Ahmedabad.
However, it will be a race against time for the opening batsman as there is just a day’s difference between the fourth and fifth T20I.
If Shubman cannot recover in time for the next match, Sanju Samson is likely to open the batting with Abhishek Sharma.
Sanju would look to make the most of the opportunity by playing a match-winning knock for his team and providing good support to Abhishek Sharma, who also found his mojo in Dharamsala after struggling to get going in the first two matches.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk)
The opening pair is followed by captain Suryakumar Yadav, who is in dire need of runs, Tilak Varma, who made a decent knock in Dharamsala, and Hardik Pandya, who has also made a decisive contribution in the series.
The aforementioned batters will be assisted by Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma, who have not had much to do in the matches India have won in the series so far.
One interesting thing to keep an eye on, however, is the batting order, which has seen a lot of changes in the series, especially in the middle.
Regardless of the batting order, it is up to the top five batters to score the majority of the runs for the team.
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
When it comes to India’s bowling attack, it would be looking to replicate the same performance as in the previous completed game.
The bowling line-up, which included Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, restricted South Africa to 117 runs in Dharamsala and would be looking to do something similar in Ahmedabad.
The fast bowling duo of Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh will look to pick wickets in the first six overs.
Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh will get support in the form of fast bowling all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, and spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy in the middle overs.
The choice of six bowling options available to Suryakumar Yadav will make things a little easier for him during the game.
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