http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 gear-up for lone Twenty20
The Test series between India and South Africa ended in a draw after both the teams managed to win one match each in the series. Both teams will now face off in the only Twenty20 game of the tour at the Moses Mabhida Stadium tomorrow.
South Africa will be looking forward to win the Twenty20 match, as they have performed well in the shortest version of the game in the recent past. The last series they featured in was against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, and the Proteas defeated the world’s top ranked Twenty20
team by a convincing margin of 2-0.
South Africa will rest some of its key players for the lone Twenty20 match of the series. The biggest name amongst those players is Jacques Kallis. The star all-rounder sustained an injury during the final Test match. However, the team decided to rest him
from the Twenty20 side before the start of the third Test match.
Kallis had a phenomenal run in the Test series, as he scored three centuries against India two of which came in the final Test match, which eventually ended in a draw. He was named as the man of the series after his brilliant performances.
The South African run-machine in Tests and one-day internationals (ODI), Hashim Amla will be a part of the Twenty20 squad. Amla hasn’t been able to make a mark in the shortest version of the game so far, and will be looking forward to performing well against
India in tomorrow’s match.
This match will mark the final international appearance of South African fast bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Makhaya-Ntini-c73953. He has already announced his retirement from cricket, but Cricket South Africa (CSA) wanted him to play one more match before he said farewell to the sport.
Ntini will be looking forward to do well in the match. He was thankful to the CSA for giving him an opportunity to represent his team one final time.
India were the winners of the first ever Twenty20 World Cup. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 and his men are a very strong force in this form of cricket. The Indian team saw a dip in form in Twenty20 cricket after their victory at the inaugural World Cup. India suffered one big
blow during the Test series, in the form of a shoulder injury to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Virender-Sehwag-c95429. The flamboyant right-hander is suited to this form of the game, but will miss the Twenty20 and the complete ODI series.
However, India has some other key players who can win the match for them. Opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623 is a very dangerous batsman in this format. Apart from him, Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are also considered to be match winners. The Indian bowling will be led
by Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. Both senior bowlers led the attack in the Test series as well, which eventually worked out well for the visitors.
The Twenty20 match will be a very important game for both the teams, as they will be looking forward to go into the ODIs with a win under their belt. Overall, it will be an interesting encounter between the two nations. They will have to shift gears quickly,
since they come into the game off the back of a Test series.
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