When the men in blue took the field against the Proteas at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on June 9, 2022, it was expected that they would come out victorious under the leadership of debut captain Rishabh Pant. On the other hand, David Miller along with Rassie van der Dussen had some other plan as they denied India their world record of 13 consecutive wins. The duo of David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen took the attack to the Indian bowlers and comfortably chased down a mammoth target of 212 runs with 7 wickets and 5 deliveries remaining.
There was a lot of criticism against the plans that the men in blue executed but the fact that the Proteas batted exceptionally well shouldn't be discounted either. When the Proteas team takes the field at Cuttack against team India, they will look to solidify their lead even further and put the opposition under pressure. Here are the top 5 players in the South African camp who can spoil India's party.
David Miller
"Killer Miller" as they say, has been batting like a dream and is in the form of his life. The left-hander who had a dream of an IPL season has carried his form forward and struck an unbeaten 64 off 31 deliveries at a staggering strike rate of 206.45. Miller says that he has been around for a very long time now and he understands his game better and looks to finish many more battles for his team. The flamboyant Proteas batsman who was released by Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2022 was picked up by Gujarat Titans and he was extremely instrumental in leading them to a title victory
Wayne Parnell
The Proteas all-rounder has been around the team's set up for a very long time now but still has not been able to cement his place. A refueled and refreshed Wayne Parnell who is quite handy with both bat and ball can immensely contribute to this firing South African side. As a left-handed bowler, he is quite useful in the powerplay and can also hit the long ball whenever his team requires it. After the first T20I match Parnell said, "the other evening in Delhi, was an incredible chase. From 10 overs onwards, most people thought we were out of the game but we managed to stick in there and take it deep".
Quinton de Kock
For many years now, Quinton de Kock has been serving South African cricket to the best of his capabilities. Quinton who opens the batting for South Africa has this reputation of scoring a lot of runs at the start and creating panic amongst the opposition team. His keeping abilities came under a bit of scrutiny in the last match when he missed stumping Shreyas Iyer, but when on song de Kock can very easily deliver both with the bat and the keeping gloves. He is someone who comes with a great reputation and can steer the victory ship in South Africa's favor when he is playing to his full potential.
Rassie van der Dussen
It was almost a question for everybody how and why did Rajasthan Royals bench Rassie for 13 out of the 16 games they played in the recently concluded IPL 2022. Rassie came out all guns blazing against the men in blue and struck an astonishing 75* off just 46 deliveries at a strike rate of 163.04 which denied India their world record of 13 consecutive wins in T20Is. If India wants to clinch this series, they will have to make sure that they make proper plans against him and contain him as much as they can.
Temba Bavuma
The South African skipper could not deliver as per reputation in the first match but he showed some intent. While chasing a mamonth total of 212 runs, Bavuma wanted to score briskly but instead received a peach from Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar which carried to the gloves of Rishabh Pant. When Bavuma comes out to bat in Cuttack, he will make sure that he lives up to his reputation and delivers first up for his team and the top of the order.
