IND vs SA LIVE: Unbeaten India will be in readiness to face a formidable South Africa pace battery, which will include the likes of premier fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrijch Nortje, in the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match in Perth on Sunday but left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj could well turn out to be the difference maker. Follow India vs South Africa and Indian Team Perth Practice LIVE updates on Insidesport.IN
Maharaj, a classic left-arm spinner, graduated through the ranks from once being a pace bowler in his youth and has now become South Africa’s most lethal spin bowler across formats. In-form Indian batters will look to get their shot selection right against Maharaj as he is known for his pin-point accuracy and ability to calculate the length at any given surface to trick the batters.
IND vs SA LIVE: Not Rabada or Nortje, Keshav Maharaj could be SouthAfrica’s trump card vs Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli as India face stern test in Perth – Check out
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keshav Maharaj | 2022-2022 | 8 | 8 | 23.0 | 0 | 202 | 8 | 2/23 | 25.25 | 8.78 | 17.2 | 0 | 0 |
In the recent T20 series against India, the left-arm orthodox spinner scalped four wickets in three matches at an average of 19.50. His tendency to bowl economical spells can turn out to be a handful at Perth but he will be wary of the fact that he has given away around nine runs per over against India in the shortest format.
However, in the T20 World Cup Super 12 match against Zimbabwe, Maharaj gave away 10 runs in one over but recovered handsomely against Bangladesh to end his spell at 1/24 in the stipulated four overs.
How have Indian batters fared against left-arm spinners?
| Player | Innings | Runs | SR | Wickets |
| Virat Kohli | 41 | 391 | 120.67 | 5 |
| Rohit Sharma | 49 | 430 | 125 | 12 |
| KL Rahul | 28 | 252 | 147.36 | 7 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 16 | 111 | 118.08 | 3 |
| Hardik Pandya | 15 | 86 | 119.44 | 3 |
Barring KL Rahul, none of the Indian batters in the top 5 are particularly adept at playing left-arm spin. While Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma gave both got runs against the tweakers, their strike rates are far lower than their usual best. Even Suryakumar, who has a career strike rate of 177, scores at 118 against left-arm spin.
IND vs SA LIVE: Not Rabada or Nortje, Keshav Maharaj could be SouthAfrica’s trump card vs Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli as India face stern test in Perth – Check out
What can be expected from spinner at Perth? – Despite the pace of extravagance, spinners have a role to play as well. Sikandar Raza, Glenn Maxwell, Shadab Khan and Dhananjaya De Silva have all proven that spin could be a secret weapon too. In the three matches at the venue, spinners have picked up 13 wickets at a miserly economy of 7.17. This comes despite Hasanrag being one of the bowlers, who conceded 53 in his 3 overs vs Australia.
While Indian batters have handled Tabraiz Shamsi pretty well, Maharaja has been a difficult bowler to deal with. The ace off-spinner has troubled Indian batters more often than not with his shorter lengths. At Perth, he could be a game-changer in the middle-overs. For India though, they have their own trump card in Ravichandran Ashwin. The veteran offie bagged three wickets in one over against Western Australia XI in the practice match. He has kept the lengths a little shorter in the WC so far, creating chances.
IND vs SA LIVE: Not Rabada or Nortje, Keshav Maharaj could be SouthAfrica’s trump card vs Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli as India face stern test in Perth – Check out
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