Hyderabad: India will lock horns with Bangladesh in the third and final T20I match of the series at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Saturday, October 12, 2024. Men in Blue will aim to emerge triumphant in the third T20I and secure a clean sweep of Bangladesh after winning the first two T20Is and two-Test series.
The Hyderabad city witnessed thundershowers on Friday, especially in the Uppal area, where the stadium is situated and it is likely to play spoilsport in Saturday's clash as well.
According to Accuweather, rain is expected to lash out in Hyderabad on Saturday morning, with at least 2 hours of heavy showers expected in the city. The weather was very cloudy early this morning, around 9 AM IST. However, the predictions for the match hours are much better and the weather is likely to be clear in the evening. However, it remains to be seen how the stadium deals with the early morning rain and if it has an impact on the outfield.
Hyderabad morning weather on Saturday (Screengrab from Accuweather) This match will also mark the homecoming for the hero of the second T20I Nitish Kumar Reddy, who not only lives in Hyderabad but also plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Men in Blue are expected to make some changes in the final game, with pacer Harshit Rana and Tilak Verma most likely to make it into the playing XI. On the other hand, despite poor outings in the first two games, Sanju Samson is likely to play the third game as India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate gave hints of him opening the innings in the third game.
While addressing the media ahead of India vs Bangladesh 3rd T20I here, Doeschate said, "We want guys to expand their own game, we want to move cricket forward like it is going at the time, and we want to be prepared for the big crunch moments that are coming up in the next 18 months."
"We try to expose as many guys as we can to international experience. We want to give Sanju another chance, so there are options, and certainly, the plan originally was to win the series, and then try a few new faces for the last game," he added.
