3 Player battles to watch out for in India vs South Africa 2022 1st T20I 

Team India's selectors took some big calls by resting many of their major stars for their five-match T20I series against South Africa. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will not be seen in action.

The Proteas, on the other hand, didn't hesitate to name a full-strength side full of players. Many of them notably featured in the IPL 2022 season and played important roles for their respective franchises.

India suffered a blow just a day before their first game as captain KL Rahul was ruled out of the series due to a groin injury. This resulted in vice-captain Rishabh Pant taking over the reins with Hardik Pandya as his deputy.

With a number of stars missing in the Indian team, they might not start as favorites against the Proteas. However, they need to get the better of individual match-ups as that could go a long way in deciding the outcome of the games.

On that note, let's take a look at the three player battles to watch out for in the 1st T20I between India and South Africa to be played on June 9:

---

#3 India captain Rishabh Pant vs Tabraiz Shamsi

Rishabh Pant is arguably one of the most fearsome strikers of the ball currently. However, he hasn't quite been able to translate that into his performances for Team India.

In 43 T20I games, Pant has scored just 683 runs at a modest average of 24.39 and a strike rate of 125.78, which is low by his standards. Moreover, he doesn't have a great record against left-arm wrist-spin in T20s.

Pant has been able to score just 51 runs in 53 balls against Chinaman bowlers and has been dismissed thrice, giving him an average of just 17. This is where Tabraiz Shamsi will come into play for the visitors.

The left-arm wrist-spinner is arguably one of the best T20 bowlers in the world at the moment. With Pant having the natural ability to take on the spinners in the middle overs, it will be interesting to see who comes on top in this match-up.

---

#2 Ishan Kishan vs Anrich Nortje

Ishan Kishan didn't have the best of IPL seasons this year despite scoring 418 runs, as he maintained a strike rate of just 120.11. India need him to fire at the top of the order, especially in KL Rahul's absence.

However, Kishan is an incredible hitter of pace bowling and his stats against South African speedster Anrich Nortje tell the story. In just 22 balls against Nortje, Kishan has scored 51 runs at a staggering strike rate of 231.81 and is yet to be dismissed.

If the 23-year-old can find his mojo against Nortje in the powerplay, he can tee off and perhaps end up making a match-winning contribution. The South African pacer, on the other hand, will know that Kishan will try to attack him and will look to create an opportunity to dismiss him for the first time.

---

#1 Shreyas Iyer vs Kagiso Rabada & Marco Jansen

Shreyas Iyer had an incredible T20I series against Sri Lanka, where he scored three half-centuries on the bounce and helped India clean sweep 3-0. Although he scored 401 runs in the IPL 2022 season for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Iyer's weakness against the short ball was exposed.

In the game against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), the KKR captain was tormented by the likes of Marco Jansen and Umran Malik. The duo used plenty of short-pitched bowling and their skiddy pace meant that Iyer couldn't handle the barrage. He was eventually dismissed in a rather disappointing manner.

Other teams soon realized this weakness and used the same plot against the 27-year-old to keep him quiet. With the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Jansen in South Africa's ranks for this series, Iyer is likely to be tested again by the short-ball ploy.

It is up to him to find a solution and dominate short-pitched bowling to excel in this series. It's also noting that his handling of the short ball could be a crucial factor in deciding whether he gets on the flight to Australia for the T20 World Cup later this year.