India's opening batsman KL Rahul is one of the most talented cricketers in the world, however, ever since his comeback to the national side after his injury, he has failed to live up to the expectations. In the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Rahul is yet to score in double-digit after opening the batting in three matches for Team India. Rahul was dismissed for nine in the match against the Netherlands and for four in the game vs Pakistan. KL wanted to turn the tables upside down in the match against South Africa, but he could also only score nine runs there.
Kl Rahul ji jagah Samson ya Hooda ko jagah dena chaiye #INDvSA #KLRahul #deepakhooda
— Vinod Tak (@VinodTa53659529) October 30, 2022
Kl Rahul training session @klrahul pic.twitter.com/axJ0MiUu0T
— Proactive __ (@Proacti29844976) October 30, 2022
BCCI agrees to exchange KL Rahul for Sikandar Raza - ANI#INDvSA #INDvsSA
— Lord Simran Hetmyer (@HetmyerSimran) October 30, 2022
@BCCI under what circumstances you felt KL Rahul is better than #shreyasiyer or #SanjuSamson ?
— jouvt09 (@Its_me_jaimeen) October 30, 2022
Sunil Shetty to KL Rahul! #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/NOKhMOwKhy
— Sunil Gavaskar (@virender_swag) October 30, 2022
Did we have to play KL Rahul of all players?
— Rohan Kumar (@RohanBHU) October 30, 2022
Shikhar Dhawan Ko Kab Mauka Milega? @BCCI
— _____ (@tujhmeinrab25) October 30, 2022
Ye Chomu KL Rahul Biggest Chuu Hai .#INDvsSA
Bcci do u have any clip with KL RAHUL.
— Shantonu (@shantonu123) October 30, 2022
Rohit on kl rahul during post match conference-#ICT #IndiavsSouthAfrica #INDvSA #T20WC2022 pic.twitter.com/RSUiWiamO4
— Aman ji (@Amanp06) October 30, 2022
Mera bottle opener KL Rahul se better perform kartaa hai.
— A True Nationalist __ (@AreOhSambha) October 30, 2022
KL Rahul, disappointing to say the least. #INDvsSA #INDvSA #T20WorldCup #SportsYaari
— Manoj Dimri (@manoj_dimri) October 30, 2022
KL Rahul is biggest fraud in World Cricket !#INDvSA #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/VxD4TGdbyN
— Neel Tweet's (@iamneelcrick) October 30, 2022
KL Rahul is useless player
— Abhimanyu Bhandari (@307Abhi) October 30, 2022
Earlier, India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first against South Africa. India and South Africa are the only unbeaten teams left in Group 2 of Super 12s. Both teams are coming off comprehensive wins in their last matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground -- South Africa thrashed Bangladesh by 104 runs while India defeated Netherlands by 56 runs. After winning the toss, Rohit said all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who also bowls part-time off-spin, replaces left-arm spin all-rounder Axar Patel in the playing eleven. Hooda was seen batting at the nets ahead of the match, which sparked talks of him replacing Axar in the playing eleven.
"It's a good surface, we know what to expect and what to do on this pitch. We had a camp across at the WACA, helped us get used to the bounce for both batters and the bowlers. But this is an important game from where the tournament is, we just have to follow the routine and trust the process, just stay calm and execute the plans," added Rohit.
The decision may have also been prompted by Axar's record against South Africa, which hasn't been great, apart from them having three left-handed in their top six -- Rilee Rossouw, David Miller and Quinton de Kock.
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma said pacer Lungi Ngidi comes in for left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi in the playing eleven, with the pace and bounce offered by the pitch at Perth Stadium in the tournament till now.
"Big game for us, have had a good start to the tournament, it's a big opportunity to test our skills against a strong Indian team. We would have probably batted as well, could be slightly tough to bat under lights, but we now need to bowl well and restrict them to a low score. The conditions are similar to what we have at home and it's a surface which our (four) pacers can exploit," added Bavuma.
The square boundaries in the stadium are at 82 metres on one side and 77 metres on the other side while straight down the ground dimensions are 75 metres. The match will be played on the pitch where the Pakistan-Netherlands match happened earlier in the day. It is also the last game Perth Stadium will be hosting in the tournament.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Temba Bavuma (captain), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi.
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