India vs South Africa, 4th T20I: Resurgent India look to draw level and keep series alive against South Africa

Pressure on Pant to deliver in must-win game for IndiaRAJKOT: With their mood lifted after a convincing 48-run win over South Africa in the third T20I at Visakhapatnam, a resurgent India will look to sustain the momentum at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Friday. A win at the Khanderi venue for them will square the scores 2-2 in the five-match series and set up a mouth-watering decider in Bengaluru on Sunday. The traditional featherbed of a pitch here promises an exciting battle. It has rained sporadically for the past few days, with the sun playing hide and seek, but the good news is: as per the weather forecast for Friday, rain will stay away.

Rishabh Pant and Rahul Dravid during a training session at SCA Stadium in Rajkot. (PTI Photo)Diving into this series against a world-class team soon after going through a gruelling IPL, India struggled to match up to South Africa's pace, going down 0-2 in three days' time. Apart from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya's impressive form, nothing seemed to be going for Rahul Dravid's boys. However, with their backs to the wall, the hosts found their top game just in the nick of time. A show of aggression by Ruturaj Gaikwad (57 off 35 balls), Ishan Kishan (54 off 35 balls), Hardik Pandya (31 not out off 21 balls), India scored 179 for five in the last game, before penetrative spells by seamer Harshal Patel (4-25) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (3-20) helped them to fold up the Proteas for just 131.

The heartening feature of India's face-saving win at the coastal town is the bounce back into form of Gaikwad and Chahal. Gaikwad, who had scored a mere 63 runs in previous five Twenty20s, was under a bit of pressure. However, his first international half-century showed