India vs South Africa, 4th T20I: India in need of Rishabh Pant's pyrotechnics in another must-win game

Rishabh Pant will be hoping to tide over his struggles with the bat and help the hosts improve their middle overs play when they take on South Africa in the fourth T20 International here on Friday. Save Pant's problems, India were able to plug the gaps in Vizag to open their account in the series with a comprehensive win. They will need another near perfect game to take the five-match series into the decider. Such has been the brilliance of Pant that every time he has been written off across formats, he has found a way to bounce back. The stage is set for him in another must-win game for India. The southpaw has been caught in the deep multiple times in the series trying to reach for the ball when it is not there in his hitting zone. Pant prefers to hit in the cow corner region but the South African bowlers have not allowed him to do that by bowling a wide line.

The hosts had got off to an electric start in the last game with Ruturaj Gaikwad finding some much-needed runs and complementing Ishan Kishan who has made a good case for being India's reserve opener in the long run, including in the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. The two will be looking to make the most of the remaining two games, followed by a couple in Ireland, before the regular openers walk back into the playing eleven. Shreyas Iyer, who has been tested with the short ball regularly in the series, has not yet made a significant contribution at number three and will be itching to change that on Friday. The home side struggled in the middle overs in Vizag after a perfect start before Hardik Pandya came to the team's rescue and took the score close to 180. Pant's men will be aiming to rectify that here and ensure the momentum is not lost through