Pace set to reclaim centrestage as series moves to Highveld

Pace and bounce. Those are the words that come to mind when one thinks of cricket in South Africa. However, things have been completely different in the first two T20Is of the current series. There was so much help for spinners that India looked more at home than the hosts.

South Africa’s batters had no clue against Varun Chakravarthy, now an overspin bowler with more tricks in his bag than a magician. His eight wickets – and an economy rate of 5.25 – are the most in the series so far. Legspinner Ravi Bishnoi is the joint second on that list with four wickets and an economy rate of 6.12.

In all, spinners from both sides have a combined 16 scalps and gone at 6.51 per over. Fast bowlers, despite bowling almost seven overs more, have 12 while going at 8.58.

Arshdeep Singh, a fast bowler himself, does not mind that. Even though he went for 41 in four overs in the second T20I in Gqeberha. “I’m enjoying what the spinners are doing. I will be really happy if they take all ten wickets and I don’t have to do my job,” he said on the eve of the third T20I in Centurion.

The conditions in the third T20I, though, are expected to be different from the first two. The first two were played in coastal cities, Durban and Gqeberha, and the teams could breach the 150 mark only once in four innings.

The next two games will be played in Centurion and Johannesburg, high-altitude venues where the ball flies off the bat. In the most recent T20I in Centurion, in March 2023, West Indies posted 258 for 5, only for South Africa to pull off a record chase with more than an over to spare.

So what is India’s plan for Wednesday? “The South Africa batters are struggling against spin,” Arshdeep said. “So the idea is to contain early on and give a good platform to our spinners to attack and take wickets.”

But it will not be easy for Varun and Bishnoi to replicate their performance, and South Africa know this. “Playing spin here is a lot different than playing it in PE [Port Elizabeth, Gqeberha’s earlier name] or Durban,” their allrounder Marco Jansen said. “There is a lot more bounce here and they will probably try a fuller length. How we go about that is different for each individual.

“I think we didn’t play spin as well as we wanted to in PE. There were a few soft dismissals where we felt we could definitely make better decisions and execute better.

“It’s important we look to score straight against spinners. It’s the same for them; they don’t want to go too full because then it’s easier to play. They want to be shorter. It’s not turning a lot; the ball just skids on. So they know if they go fuller, it is easier to score. If it’s full, we can step out. If it’s short, we can stay back.”

With the ball, South Africa’s plan looks different from India’s. Their lead fast bowlers – Jansen and Gerald Coetzee, both returning from injuries – have been quicker and more accurate than their Indian counterparts and will aim to strike early.

“In the Highveld, the ball travels a lot more than at the coast,” Jansen said. “So it’s important to take wickets at regular intervals, because it’s very difficult to restrict the scoring rate.”

Arshdeep is aware he may have to play a key role for India. “I am looking forward to what the wicket offers here,” he said. “It all depends on the conditions, the pitch, the situation whether to go for wickets or look to contain.

“When you are bowling two overs at the start and two at the end, a lot depends on you – you can win a game or lose it. So there’s a lot of responsibility. When you bowl at the death, some days are good, some days are bad. You try to stay level-headed and not overthink. The endeavour is to keep things simple, not complicate them, and fulfil what the team demands from me.”