T20 World Cup: 3 things to watch out for in the India vs. South Africa match on Sunday

India will take on South Africa in a crucial Group 2 match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 in Perth on Sunday. India have won both their matches so far and are at the top of the group, followed by South Africa. The Proteas had their opening match washed out by rain, but walloped Bangladesh in their second.

The team that wins on Sunday – if we do not have another washout that is - will take a big leap towards securing a place in the last four. Hence, both teams will be desperate for a victory. India recently beat South Africa in a home T20 international series, but the conditions in Perth will be a lot different.

We will now take a look at three things to watch out for in the match:

#1 Both India and South Africa might go with an extra pacer

The pitch at the Perth Stadium offers great pace and bounce to the bowlers and it might force both teams to go into the match with an additional pacer.

South Africa played a couple of spinners against Bangladesh on the flatter and slower pitch in Sydney. Given the conditions in Perth and also the ability of the Indians to play spin well, they should replace Tabraiz Shamsi with Lungi Ngidi.

Similarly, the Indians might also be compelled to replace Axar Patel with Harshal Patel. Axar bowled well against the Netherlands after having a bad day against Pakistan.

However, he is quicker through the air and will be easier to score off on a fast pitch. Moreover, the South African team is stacked with left-handed batters, who might relish playing against Axar’s left-arm orthodox spin.

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#2 The pacers will have to alter their length

Anrich Nortje might prove to be a difficult proposition on the fast and bouncy Perth pitch

Indian new-ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh swung the ball a great deal in both of the first two matches. They generally bowled a fuller length initially to generate the swing, but might have to alter their strategy in Perth.

The pacers will be well-advised to pitch it just short of good length in Perth to make use of the extra bounce on offer. The Zimbabwean pacers demonstrated it very well in their win against Pakistan and the Indian bowlers should also take a leaf out of their books.

Arshdeep bowled a few good bouncers to take a couple of wickets against Pakistan in Melbourne and might savor doing the same in Perth. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who prefers to bowl at a fuller length, might have to rethink his plan against South Africa. This is where Hardik Pandya’s ability to hit the deck might come in handy.

For the South Africans, Anrich Nortje, who took four wickets against Bangladesh, will be a key bowler again.

His ability to hit the deck with fierce pace might make the difference on Sunday as both Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada are primarily 'kiss-the-surface' kind of bowlers. Ngidi’s inclusion should also bolster the African pace attack in this regard.

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#3 South African power hitters might be useful on a big ground

Like most other Australian grounds, the one at the Optus Stadium is quite big and it is not going to be easy for the batters to clear the ropes. While the Indians have more technically correct players in their ranks, the South Africans boast a greater number of big-hitters.

The likes of Rilee Rossouw, who has scored a couple of tons in T20 internationals recently, Quinton de Kock, and David Miller – all left-handers - will fancy their chances of clearing the ground through the onside.

While the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Surya Kumar Yadav are very capable batters, they do not quite have the ability to bludgeon the ball like the three aforementioned South Africans. Still, Kohli and Yadav’s form continues to be a big positive for India.

Ravichandran Ashwin might play a key role in this regard. He has a lot of variety and can take the pace off the ball by giving it more flight. Moreover, as an off-spinner, he should be more effective against the southpaws.

Should Harshal Patel get selected to play, he might also be effective with his ability to bowl slower stuff.