3rd T20I: Ramandeep, Sipamla come in as South Africa elect to bowl first against India

Centurion:Ramandeep SinghRamandeep Singhhas been handed a debut, while Lutho Sipamla returns to the international scene for the first time after February 2021 as South Africa elected to bowl first against India in the third T20I at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. The four-match series is currently tied 1-1.

After winning the toss for the third time in a row, captain Aiden Markram said pacer Sipamla comes into the playing eleven in place of leg-spinner Nqabayomzi Peter. “The wicket looks good. Not quite at our best. We are making slow progress. The bowlers did a good job in the last game. The batters need to spend time in the middle and not be too desperate. We have full trust in our batting unit and hope we do something special tonight," he said.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said Ramandeep, the seam-bowling all-rounder who has impressed for Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL 2024 triumph through his finishing skills, handy spells, and electrifying fielding, comes into the eleven in place of pacer Avesh Khan.

Ramandeep did well for India A in the Emerging Men’s T20 Asia Cup, held in Oman last month. “Avesh has done well for us but one of the two bowlers had to make a sacrifice. We have done well in the last two games while batting first.” “The boys have come out with clear plans and are executing it, I have been really happy with that. Just be clear, go out and enjoy yourself (the message from him and the management). These boys have made my job easier,” he said.

Playing XIs:

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakaravarthy

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj and Lutho Sipamla