India vs South Africa, 1st T20I: Team India's preparations for T20 World Cup hit the final stretch

South Africa series is India's last chance to address shortcomings before the T20 World Cup next monthTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Every Indian player had a smile on his face after the Men In Blue wriggled out a comeback T20 series victory against the Australians. The series victory on Sunday was an important one for Rohit and his men after their premature exit from the Asia Cup earlier this month as it gave them the much-needed fillip going into the World T20 in three weeks' time. Now, India's preparations for the World T20 is hitting its final stretch. South Africans have replaced Australians as their rivals for their last three T20 matches before that big tournament Down Under and the two teams will square off in the first of those games at the Greenfield stadium, Thiruvananthapuram here on Wednesday night.

Much like a trip on Kerala roads these days, India's ride towards the World T20 has been a bumpy one. Despite the series victory, the matches against Australia and their Asia Cup performance earlier have exposed India's shortcomings. The series against South Africa will give the team management one final opportunity to address those before they board the flight to Australia.

The two back-to-back successful run chases in Nagpur and Hyderabad against the Aaron Finch-led side have helped India camouflage their vulnerability in defending targets against big teams. In fact, since they started to field an almost full-strength squad from the Asia Cup onwards, India have lost three out of the five matches where they have batted first, with their victories coming against minnows Hong Kong and Afghanistan.

The performance of the Indian bowlers, especially during the end overs, has copped a fair bit of criticism. Even the usually