IND vs SA, 3rd T20I: Zaheer Khan feels this pacer could be India’s X-factor
Rishabh Pant-led Team India will take on South Africa in the third match of the five-match T20I series at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. After losing the first two matches of the series, it will be a do or die match for the Indian cricket team. The Indian team management may make some changes in the playing XI in the third T20I as the bowlers have disappointed Pant in the series so far. IPL 2022 bowling sensation Umran Malik is heating the bench at the moment and many cricket pundits have expressed that he should make his debut in the third T20I.
Match day is considered to be a non-match day.
A packed stadium in Cuttack to watch the #TeamIndia train. #INDvSA | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/lLYwx06Jk3 – BCCI (@BCCI) June 11, 2022
Former India cricketer Zaheer Khan has said that Umran Malik can be the X factor for Team India in the current T20 series. Zaheer also revealed that Umran troubled South Africa’s David Miller in the recently concluded IPL 2022. Miller continued his top-order in the bilateral series from the IPL.
“Extra pace can be handy. It’s something that I think, we have seen in IPL as well. You have seen Umran getting (David) Miller out on one occasion, the ball is coming around the wicket, Really fast bowling. So, this is something that could be a good match-up. Even with (Heinrich) Klaasen, the way he was batting, if you get that extra pace, the X-factor He can go for runs too, but you have to have that X-factor. Something different will probably have that effect. So, I think the inclination will be for Umran for the next match,” Zaheer Khan said on Cricbuzz Said in a discussion.
In Umran’s first full season of IPL playing, he was in top form for Sunrisers Hyderabad, taking 22 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 20.18 and an economy rate of 9.03, taking a four-wicket haul and a five-wicket haul respectively and in the middle overs. Charan has been instrumental in picking up wickets for his franchise. He was also named the rising player of the season at the end of the competition.