Hands folded, and lips pressed and pushed out in acknowledgement, Suryakumar Yadav's eyes resignedly drifted from the stands to the batter right after Donovan Ferreira had jumped out and swatted Jasprit Bumrah for a six. It was an emphatic statement of dominance as the pacer's delivery was sent past the ropes for the fourth time in the innings - the kind of which elicits a smile of disbelief from him. Never before had he been hit for as many sixes in a T20I inning.

Only a few overs earlier, Arshdeep Singh's ninth wide of the innings was met with a much colder exasperation from his captain. The 54 runs Arshdeep conceded from his spell was the second most he ever had in his T20I career so far.

It was a rare tough day for the Indian pace duo who were moved from the spicy deck of Cuttack to the roads of Chandigarh in less than 48 hours. There was a bit of steep bounce and some early movement to support them, but their inability to take advantage of that came to haunt them - and the team - at the later stage of the innings when dew settled in, and South African batters took toll of the repeated errors in lengths and lines.

The visitors amassed 213 for 4, and with their pacers ripping past India's top-order by the fourth over, the control of the contest had firmly moved in South Africa's favour.

It's rare for two of India's most successful T20I bowlers to play in the same XI. It's rarer for them to fail and India to lose when they share responsibilities. It was the first time in 14 T20Is that India lost a game with them teaming up. They were up for some self-confessed 'explorations' anyway; an obvious preparation for the T20 World Cup, evidenced clearly than the promotion of Axar Patel to No. 3 in the tall run-chase.

One among the chief changes to India's blueprint in this exploratory phase has been Hardik Pandya's role with the ball. When the versatility and adaptive nature of Pandya's bowling chops were put to test in the middle overs, he surprisingly resorted to a flurry of slower balls - across different lengths - on a pitch that didn't quite hold up much. He did succeed a few times at foxing the batters - including Quinton de Kock, who was in sublime touch - even if he was hit for a couple of boundaries and a six.

Bowling far from full tilt - crossing the 134kmph only thrice across his 18-ball spell - Pandya proved nearly as expensive.

The off day aside, India's pace attack looks far more balanced on paper with Pandya backing up Arshdeep and Bumrah. His overs give India a cushion in the death overs, while also ensuring the frontline duo aren't burned through too early if a partnership starts to build in the middle phase. Having them chip in with two overs apiece in the powerplay allows India a strong chance of breaking the game open and claiming the early advantage. Pandya himself adds value as a hit-the-deck option in the middle overs.

It's a position of luxury that India find themselves in for now - with three pace bowling options that can operate across all phases. But it comes at the cost of keeping the in-form Kuldeep Yadav out of the XI. It's a fairly recent change to the structure of the Suryakumar-led side. As much as they'd like to cement in the right combination early in their preparation for next year's World Cup, the perfect blueprint is far from ready.

Pandya, who had delivered 32 overs across 20 innings in the powerplay since the start of 2024, often starting the proceedings from one end for the team, has been unutilised in that role in the first two games of the series.

During this phase, Pandya was fairly effective in keeping a check on the flow of runs, even if he picked only six wickets. That Pandya found himself with reasonable Powerplay - and even death bowling - duties was more to do with the spin-heavy combination that India were employing. But a change in combination in the ongoing series has pushed him back to a role in the middle overs.

"For this series, and the conditions on offer, we are playing two out and out seamers who are going to take the new ball," Ryan ten Doeschate, India's assistant coach, explained following the second T20I. "And Varun [Chakaravarthy] has been very good at the back end of the powerplay. We want to use the right tools at the right time. I guess in Cuttack, and here tonight, Surya had a hunch that Axar could be dangerous in powerplay. It's nice to know we have got an extra option. We have got four bowlers who can bowl in the powerplay."

The luxury of resources at their disposal notwithstanding, the defeat on Thursday causes just enough jitters that leaves a hint of question. The scrutiny may not be on the individual performances of Pandya, Arshdeep and Bumrah, as much as it could be over how long India want to persist with the trial of this new combination.

Even as the conditions warrant the need for at least three pace bowling options, as mentioned by ten Doeschate, India have reluctantly preferred to trust their spin arsenal in recent months. The conditions haven't mattered - in Johannesburg, in Centurion, in Hobart, in Melbourne, in Hyderabad; all venues that entice greater load from the pacers.

If India don't achieve the desired results by the end of the series, the possibility of jumping back to more familiar ways can't be ruled out - one that is bound to dictate Pandya's role with the ball heading into the World Cup.