While Ishan Kishan has done well so far, Ruturaj Gaikwad (23, 1) has pulled the team down with questions being raised over his technique against quality pacers and his ability to force the pace early on.
Seniors like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara came in for a lot of flak for their below-par showing with the bat, while Jasprit Bumrah also failed to live up to expectations.
New Zealand eye top spot and a first series win over South Africa.
If Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, then Mumbai Indians may find it very difficult to qualify for the play-offs even if they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league match.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The Indian team's strategy is expected to undergo paradigm shift with some players getting a subtle yet stern message to lift their games as they face an embarrassing possibility of a clean sweep against South Africa in the third ODI, in Cape Town on Sunday.
India captured four wickets to reduce South Africa 'A' to 179 for 9, who go into day four with a paltry lead of 40 runs in the second innings.
Punjab Kings' batting unit hasn't hit the straps, save for Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and the bowling has been pedestrian.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway's effortless six-hitting exhibition was well complemented by a four-wicket haul from Mukesh Choudhary as Chennai Super Kings notched up an emphatic 13-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Photos from the ongoing IPL match between Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad
For a team that looked at ease all along, it was their first defeat in the UAE leg -- and three from 11 matches this season -- as Delhi struggled to get going against KKR bowlers who made full use of the slow surface after opting to bowl.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will need their famed top-order batting to fire and turn things around when they take on Punjab Kings in the IPL in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
KL Rahul will have to show drastically improved leadership acumen when he leads India against a buoyant South African side in the second ODI on Thursday.
The Men in Blue are on a 12-match winning streak and come Thursday, they can create an all-time record of winning 13 T20I games in a row.
Collingwood 'amazed' by questions about Root's captaincy
Young Shubman Gill was back in form with an unbeaten 66 after India 'A' bowlers set the platform, dismissing South Africa 'A' for 164 on the first day of the Unofficial Test.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will start as firm favourites against bottom-placed SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Delhi on Tuesday.
The key to Suryakumar Yadav's instant success in international cricket is great attitude and being surrounded by right kind of people till the time India call-up eluded him, said Mumbai Indians Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between South Africa and India, in Cape Town, on Thursday.
Here's the complete list of which team bagged who, and for how much!
In case of Umesh, he bowls a fuller length, gets that lethal outswing going his way at 140 clicks but the question is, if India can afford to play a bowler, who has a propensity to bowl too many boundary balls.
India's formidably consistent match-winners have a date with history in the New Year when they take on an out-of-sorts South Africa in the second Test in Johannesburg from Monday in pursuit of a coveted first-ever series win in the Rainbow Nation.
India have a real shot at winning their first ever away series against South Africa,
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings head into the match after identical seven-wicket wins over Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.
MI are coming into the match after suffering back-to-back losses
Fresh from their clinical display against Sunrisers Hyderabad, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to set the record straight against nemesis Mumbai Indians in their second IPL match in Chennai on Tuesday.
A batting line-up dotted with big power-hitters along with the best death bowlers make record five-time winners MI a formidable unit.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between India and South Africa in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Mumbai Indians relied not just on international performers like Pollard or Quinton de Kock or Trent Boult, but also on the likes of uncapped duo of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav as they emerged triumphant in the 13th edition of IPL last year.
Images from the first One-Day International between South Africa and India, in Paarl, on Wednesday.
A battle royale is in the offing as heavyweights Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals clash in a high-profile IPL encounter, in Chennai, on Tuesday.
Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad's to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians in an IPL encounter in Chennai on Saturday, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats.
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat defending champions Mumbai Indians by two wickets in a last-ball thriller in the Indian Premier League opener, in Chennai, on Friday.
South Africa head coach Mark Boucher has ranked the remarkable, come-from-behind 2-1 series triumph over world No. 1 India as one of the best in the Rainbow Nation's Test cricket history.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan was back amongst the runs with a brisk 52 off 43 balls but it wasn't enough to get India 'A' over the line against South Africa 'A' in a rain-hit unofficial fourth ODI.
Local hero Sanju Samson struck a blistering 48-ball 91 as India A romped to a 36-run victory over South Africa A in the fifth and final unofficial ODI, helping the hosts claim the series 4-1, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday.
IPL 2022 has passed the halfway mark after a month of high action and drama. So how will the second half play out for the teams still in contention for the playoffs?
A look at how the teams stack up ahead of the mega auction.
But the focus will be on 19-year-old Gill, who has broken into the Indian Test squad for the three-match series against the Proteas, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.
The teams for both the matches are a mix of experience and youth.
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