A short series of three, effectively two matches will come to an end in Johannesburg as South Africa look to win it 2-0 while India aim to level it 1-1 in the decider on Thursday, December 14. The rain has dampened the moods and excitement so far having washed off a game and shortened another, but the players and the fans will be happy that they got some play in the second game in Gqeberha and eventually a result. The Indian bowling was found wanting on a wicket that got better after the second rain break and against a batting line-up that didn't know the meaning of the word, 'settle'.
The batting too was saved by the captain Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh, who hit his maiden T20I fifty. However, Johannesburg will bring joy to the batters, especially the openers who would hope to get off a better start than they did on Tuesday but the bowlers will hope that they can defend or keep the South Africans to a score that the batters will be able to get.
Wanderers, Johannesburg Pitch Report
Johannesburg is in the Highlands and the ball literally flies here. Some of the biggest scores in T20Is and ODIs have been made at the Wanderers and with the home season just starting, the pitch will be fresh and will offer a lot of runs. Gqeberha was a little two-paced to start with but nothing of that would happen at this venue. Average batting first score in Johannesburg in 32 T20Is in 173. The team batting first has won 15 games and the chasing side has won 17. The difference isn't a lot but since defending is tough here, the captain winning the toss will be tempted to bowl first.
Since batting is a strong point for both teams, they won't hesitate in chasing even a 210-220 score, however, if the pitch is good, batting the opposition out of the game is also an option but given the result of the second T20I, chasing is what the toss-winning captain would go for. With one of the boundaries only 65m long, Johannesburg is a bowler's graveyard and the batters will have a day out.
