Rahul Tiwari
khelja|15-11-2024
The 4-match T20 series between India and South Africa will end today i.e. on 15th November. So far 3 matches have been played, in which Team India is ahead 2-1 after winning 2 matches. Now the fourth and last match of the series will be played on 15 November in Johannesburg. The last match between India and South Africa on this ground was played in February 2018. Now the Indian team is coming to play T20 match on this ground after 6 years. Almost the entire Team India has changed in these 6 years. The T20 career of 9 out of 11 players who played on this ground last time is almost over. Some have retired, while the hopes of some players' comeback have ended.
The Indian team has come to Johannesburg to play T20 match after 6 years. When Team India participated here in 2018, Virat Kohli was the captain. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan had opened in this match. Suresh Raina came to bat at number 3 and Virat Kohli at number 4.
Whereas Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya batted in the middle order. On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal took command of the bowling. Out of these 11 players, the T20 career of 9 players is almost over, only Pandya and Bumrah are still associated with the team. Let us tell you that Sachin Tendulkar also played the only T20 match of his career in Johannesburg.
Although only Dhoni, Raina, Rohit, Virat and Dhawan have announced retirement, the remaining players are also not expected to return. The team management is continuously giving opportunities to young faces. In such a situation, it does not seem that Manish, Bhuvneshwar, Unadkat and Chahal will be able to return to the T20 team.
In 2018, the Indian team had won the match against South Africa by 28 runs. Batting first, Team India had scored 203 runs at the loss of 5 wickets. In response, the South African team could score only 175 runs.