IND vs SA: Follow South Africa tour of India Live Updates – When India will take on South Africa for a five-match T20I series, starting June 9, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be aiming to find the best possible XI for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. Many players are battling for the same spot, and one such battle that many will enjoy watching is for the role of a finisher. Follow IND vs SA live updates and South Africa tour of India Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
From the team the selectors have announced, it seems certain that KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant will form India’s top order. With that being said, the men in blue will need a finisher and two players in Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik are fighting for this role.
IND vs SA: Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik set to BATTLE for the role of a finisher – Check out who will be India’s finisher in the series against South Africa?
Both of them deserve their place in the team after a fantastic IPL 2022 season. While Hardik scored 457 runs for champions Gujarat Titans at an average of 44.27, Karthik scored 330 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 180+.
To analyze who will be the better fit for India, let us check their numbers as a finisher:
Note – For our analysis, we have included scores where Pandya and Karthik have batted in these three positions – 5, 6 & 7, so as to highlight their efficacy as a finisher.
Hardik Pandya as a finisher in IPL since 2020:
| Year | Innings | Runs | Balls | Outs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 | 4s | 6s |
| 2020 | 12 | 260 | 146 | 8 | 32.5 | 178.1 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 24 |
| 2021 | 9 | 112 | 98 | 8 | 14.0 | 114.3 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| Total | 21 | 372 | 244 | 16 | 23.2 | 152.5 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 28 |
Dinesh Karthik as a finisher in IPL since 2020:
| Year | Innings | Runs | Balls | Outs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 | 4s | 6s |
| 2020 | 9 | 132 | 92 | 7 | 18.9 | 143.5 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 |
| 2021 | 17 | 251 | 192 | 11 | 22.8 | 130.7 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 7 |
| 2022 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 0 | – | 200.0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 27 | 397 | 291 | 18 | 22.1 | 136.4 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 12 |
By solely considering stats of IPL, it is very clear that Hardik Pandya will be a better fit for the Indian team as compared to Dinesh Karthik. He has both – a better average, and a better strike rate than Karthik.
IND vs SA: Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik set to BATTLE for the role of a finisher – Check out who will be India’s finisher in the series against South Africa?
Hardik Pandyas a finisher in T20 Internationals since 2020:
| Year | Innings | Runs | Balls | Outs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 | 4s | 6s |
| 2020 | 3 | 78 | 50 | 2 | 39.0 | 156.0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 2021 | 6 | 91 | 88 | 6 | 15.2 | 103.4 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Total | 9 | 169 | 138 | 8 | 21.1 | 122.5 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
Dinesh Karthik’s last two years as a finisher in T20 Internationals:
| Year | Innings | Runs | Balls | Outs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 | 4s | 6s |
| 2018 | 8 | 179 | 112 | 2 | 89.5 | 159.8 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 |
| 2019 | 4 | 47 | 28 | 2 | 23.5 | 167.9 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 12 | 226 | 140 | 4 | 56.5 | 161.4 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 10 |
The international stats are where Karthik gets the edge on Pandya. The Royal Challengers Bangalore player always tends to step up for the Men in Blue, while the Gujarat Titans’ skipper has not done much for India in the recent times. However, with that being said, Pandya’s recent form can tempt the team management to have faith in him as the finisher of the team.
IND vs SA: Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik set to BATTLE for the role of a finisher – Check out who will be India’s finisher in the series against South Africa?
IND vs SA Schedule
| South Africa tour of India, 2022 | ||||
| Sr. No. | Day | Date | Match | Venue |
| 1 | Thursday | 9th June | 1st T20I | Delhi |
| 2 | Sunday | 12th June | 2nd T20I | Cuttack |
| 3 | Tuesday | 14th June | 3rd T20I | Vizag |
| 4 | Friday | 17th June | 4th T20I | Rajkot |
| 5 | Sunday | 19th June | 5th T20I | Bengaluru |
IND vs SA Squads
India squad: KL Rahul (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain, wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen and Marco Jansen.
IND vs SA: Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik set to BATTLE for the role of a finisher – Check out who will be India’s finisher in the series against South Africa?
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