SA vs IND: 1st T20I Preview: An exciting series awaits as T20 World Cup finalists meet

India is set to lock horns with South Africa in the first T20I in the four-match series at Kingsmead, Durban on Friday, November 8. Fans anticipate this series as it features the two finalists from the T20 World Cup earlier this year. The Men in Blue won the cliffhanger of a contest by seven runs to become two-time champions, much to the chagrin of the South African faithful. The Proteas will want to exact revenge in front of their home fans on a rampant Indian side.

After the T20 World Cup triumph, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the format. Shubman Gill led the team to Zimbabwe for a five-match series and emerged victorious by a 4-1 margin. Suryakumar Yadav took charge of the team full-time following the tour of the African nation. Under his leadership, the Asian giants whitewashed Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by 3-0 margins. India will look to continue their dominance in the shortest format of the game.

Meanwhile, South Africa were whitewashed by the West Indies in a three-match series in the Caribbean following the T20 World Cup. They also played a two-match T20I series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi. After winning the first T20I comfortably, the Proteas lost the second match, as the European nation squared the series. However, Aiden Markram didn’t have too many experienced players on his side in the two aforementioned series as South Africa gave opportunities to several youngsters who had done well for them in the SA20. Against India, however, the hosts have assembled a team that has a good mix of youth and experience.

Pitch Report:

Kingsmead has hosted 18 T20Is so far. Batting first at this venue has yielded eight wins and so has chasing. The average first innings score is 168. The new ball could move around for the first couple of overs but if the batters can negotiate that period, a lot of runs would be there for the taking. Chasing could be the better option, with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening.

Probable XIs:

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Patrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Ottneil Baartman

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal, Varun Chakaravarthy