Ahmedabad: Sanju Samson has replaced an injured Shubman Gill, while Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar returned to India’s playing eleven, as South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first in the fifth and final T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.
India are currently leading the five-match series 2-1 after the fourth T20I in Lucknow was abandoned due to excessive fog. Meanwhile, Sundar comes in for Kuldeep Yadav, Bumrah is back at his home venue in place of Harshit Rana.
A statement from the BCCI said Gill sustained an impact injury to his right foot while batting in the nets on December 16 in Lucknow. Though Gill is improving, he was unavailable for selection for the fifth T20I.
“The wicket looks good, there won’t be dew and we want to put runs on the board. It (the stadium) almost feels full. Let’s see what we want from this game, yes the series is on the line, but it is about expressing yourself and enjoying the game,” said India skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram said left-arm spinner George Linde comes in for fast bowler Anrich Nortje. “The wicket looks quite dew, probably some dew later on and the ball comes on better. There’s everything to play for, focus is on the World Cup and we have quite a few games here. Quite a few good signs with the ball in hand, looking to finish the tour on a positive note,” he said.
The playing surface for Friday’s contest comes with short square boundaries – 63m and 65m respectively, while the straight down the ground boundary is at 71m. The black soil pitch appears dry but firm despite visible cracks, suggesting some assistance for spin may be there.
Playing XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Arshdeep Singh
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (captain), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi, and Ottniel Baartman
(IANS)
