South Africa and the visiting Indian team will commence their four-match T20I series with the first match at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban on Friday, November 8. The action is slated to commence from 8:30 PM IST onwards. The match marks their first interaction since the high-octane T20 World Cup finale earlier this year.
South Africa (SA) will take on India (IND) in the first T20I at the Kingsmead in Durban on November 8. This will be the first time both teams will be in action against each other after India pipped South Africa to win the T20 World Cup 2024 in June. India are the number one ranked team in T20Is, whereas South Africa have slipped further in the rankings after they lost T20I series by 3-0 to West Indies in August. They are now placed sixth.
SA vs IND : Previous Performances
India, under their new T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav are in roaring form in T20Is. They won the T20I series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by 3-0 each. They will enter the Rainbow Nation with a relatively young squad and the last time they visited the country for a T20I series, they had levelled the three-match series 1-1.
The Indian cricket team has won 21 of its 22 T20I matches this year. Moreover, Team India is yet to lose a single T20I ever since Suryakumar Yadav’s appointment as captain, having won the series with identical 3-0 margins against Sri Lanka (away) and Bangladesh (home). The ‘Men in Blue’ also managed to level their previous T20I series in South Africa back in December 2023.
The current line-up features blistering ball-strikers in the form of Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson as well as captain Suryakumar Yadav himself. India’s bowling attack will likely be spearheaded by Arshdeep Singh and spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
After losing the 2024 T20 World Cup final to India, the South African team lost its three-match away series in West Indies by a 0-3 margin. Moreover, the Proteas also failed to defeat Ireland in UAE in late-September.
To sum up, South Africans have coped four defeats in five matches ever since securing their best-ever T20 World Cup campaign. In a bid to topple India, the hosts will surely be relying on their in-form batters Tristan Stubbs and Reeza Hendricks as well as on their captain Aiden Markram. Patrick Kruger and Keshav Maharaj will also be aiming to sustain their prolific wicket-taking spree.
SA vs IND : Head to Head
| Matches Played | 27 |
| Won by India | 15 |
| Won by South Africa | 11 |
| No Result | 01 |
| First-ever Fixture | December 1, 2006 |
| Most-recent Fixture | June 29, 2024 |
SA vs IND : Pitch Report
The Kingsmead pitch provides ample assistance to pacers and maintains that for substantial part of the game. The pacers will get extra movement and bounce to go with. On the other hand, batters can benefit if they rely on timing their shots well. The weather will be cloudy and there’s almost a 24 percent chance of rain during the game.
The Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban tends to favour fast bowlers, and the average first innings total at the venue has amounted to just 136 after 18 T20I fixtures. The captain winning the toss will likely opt to bat first owing to the overall track record of the stadium.
These are South Africa’s slowest pitches, but that doesn’t mean they will be subcontinental. Although Durban has an unhappy habit of raining on cricket matches, the forecast says that shouldn’t happen on Friday. There’s a slight chance of showers in Gqeberha on Sunday.
South Africa do not have happy memories of Durban. Last year, Australia whitewashed them in a series of three T20Is, all played at this venue. It’s a high-scoring venue; the average first-innings total in the last seven T20Is here is 184. However, the weather could spoil things – there is a 40% chance of rain on Friday. The last time India were supposed to play a T20I here, in December 2023, rain did not allow even the toss.
According to AccuWeather, there is a good chance of rain around the stadium during match time. Fans can expect a truncated affair between the two sides if rains interrupt proceedings.
SA vs IND : Big Picture : Rematch of T20 World Cup final between South Africa and India
In one way, Friday’s T20I between South Africa and India is a grudge match. The last time these two sides met was in Barbados, in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. India had no business winning that match when South Africa needed 30 off 30 balls with six wickets in hand. But Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Co snatched the win, and the trophy, from South Africa’s grasp, leaving them heartbroken.
In another way, it is not. Many protagonists of that final will not be in action in this series. From India’s XI for the final, only four – Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh – are part of the current squad. South Africa, too, are without Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi.
Therefore, this four-match series might look inconsequential. But don’t forget, the next T20 World Cup is only 15 months away, and the teams have already started preparing for it.
India recently faced a shock whitewash at home at the hands of New Zealand, but that was in Test cricket. Their T20I side, which has never been more different from their Test team, is coming on the back of a thumping 3-0 series win against Bangladesh. Continuing their attacking template from the World Cup, they posted a gigantic 297 for 6 in their most recent T20I.
South Africa are yet to recover from their defeat in the final. Since then, they have lost 3-0 to West Indies and drew 1-1 against Ireland in the format. Playing at home now, can they bounce back would be the question.
It isn’t often that a men’s T20I series is a dress rehearsal for a mere franchise tournament’s player auction, but there is nothing mere about the IPL. With the auction for next year’s tournament looming on November 24 and 25, several of those involved in the rubber between South Africa and India will feel the heat of the IPL spotlight.
A good performance in the four games — the first of them at Kingsmead on Friday, the last at the Wanderers next Friday — could make some of them rich. Conversely, should they not live up to expectation they might end up without a deal and thus have significantly less money in the bank.
Of South Africa’s squad of 16, including Lutho Sipamla, who isn’t in the mix for the first two matches, only Heinrich Klaasen has been retained; by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Just two of the remaining 14 — Mihlali Mpongwana and Andile Simelane — are not up for auction.
Eleven of India’s 15 have been retained. The exceptions are Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak and Avesh Khan, who have all made themselves available to be bought.
The full list numbers 1,574 players. There are 1,165 Indians and 409 foreigners from 16 countries. Ninety-one of them are South Africans, more than from any other country besides India.
Not that the 16 players from both teams who will be on IPL audition during the series will have the franchise owners’ attention to themselves. During the same eight days that South Africa and India are playing each other, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies, England, Australia and the Netherlands. So are Pakistan, Oman, Indonesia and Myanmar, but none of their players are in the auction.
The fact that the series pits this year’s T20 World Cup finalists against each other is deep in the shadows of the overarching IPL story. So any notion that the South Africans will be out to make amends for the seven-run loss they suffered in that match is hopelessly naive.
It’s also difficult to sketch a relevant narrative about the rubber considering the next World Cup in the format isn’t until February and March 2026. Unless that narrative is, as it is with the IPL, about money — CSA will earn about USD8.6-million in broadcast revenue from the four games.
An ancient proverb about cricket is that it is a team game for individuals. That remains true, but there is a twist in this instance. From this Friday to the next in South Africa, it will be nothing more no less than a game for 16 individuals trying to excel not for a team but for the signature of the owners of one of 10 franchises on a paycheque.
But there is indeed another reason the series matters. We’ve all heard that cricket is undergoing a revolution. This is a significant skirmish in that ongoing struggle towards a more realistic future.
SA vs IND : In the spotlight : Aiden Markram and Tilak Varma
Aiden Markram has crossed 25 only once in 14 T20I innings this year. His tally in the format is 201, at an average of 16.75 and a strike rate of 118.23. This is in complete contrast to his career numbers: average 32.17, strike rate 144.62. On the eve of the first T20I against India, he said he was in a good space mentally. Both he and South Africa would want that to be converted into runs.
A couple of freak hand injuries earlier this year had put Tilak Varma‘s career on hold. While he is back in the mix now, the competition has got intense. He was drafted in for the Bangladesh T20Is as an injury replacement for Shivam Dube but did not get a match. After that, he led India at the Emerging Asia Cup in Oman where his returns were unglamorous: 117 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 120.61. Can he step up against a much tougher opponent.
SA vs IND : Vital Stat that matters
- India have a strong head-to-head record against South Africa in South Africa: six wins and three losses in nine T20Is.
- Among those who have scored at least 1000 T20I runs, Suryakumar has the highest strike rate(169.48).
- Arshdeep Singh is India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is this year, with 28 scalps in 14 games.
- In nine T20I innings against India, Heinrich Klaasen has three half-centuries and a strike rate of 168.09.
- India’s bowling attack lacks experience of playing in these conditions
- South Africa’s batting lineup is strong, with Miller and Klassen in the side
- South Africa plays at home, and the players know the conditions well.
SA vs IND : Team News for SA and IND
South Africa:
For the first time since the T20 World Cup in June, South Africa will be able to field seven of the XI who took them to the final of that tournament. But not Quinton de Kock, who’s gone fishing, and Kagiso Rabada, who’s been rested. Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi are available, but were not selected.
South Africa could hand a debut to allrounder Andile Simelane. Simelane plays his domestic cricket at Kingsmead, which could come in handy.
South Africa Possible Playing XI: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Nqaba Peter, Ottniel Baartman
India:
India are likely to hand batting allrounder Ramandeep Singh his T20I cap. Axar Patel should also get a chance after warming the bench during the New Zealand Test series. Ramandeep Singh and Vijaykumar Vyshak are in an India squad for the first time. Yash Dayal has been in the Test squad, but remains uncapped. Riyan Parag is out with what the BCCI described as a “chronic right shoulder injury”. Shivam Dube and Mayank Yadav are also nursing problems, but theirs haven’t been detailed.
Possible XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
SA vs IND Fantasy XI : Heinrich Klaasen, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Tristan Stubbs, Reeza Hendricks, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Keshav Maharaj, Ravi Bishnoi
SA vs IND : Probable Top Performers from SA vs IND
Probable Best Batter: Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson is coming off a brilliant maiden T20I century against Bangladesh in the recently concluded series. He scored a magnificent 111 off 47 balls. Moreover, the last time he was in Proteas land, he scored his maiden international century in the third ODI, smashing 108 off 114 balls.
Probable Best Bowler: Patrick Kruger
Patrick Kruger was the standout bowler for South Africa against Ireland in the T20I series. He played two games against Ireland and picked four wickets and one wicket in both games respectively. He could be handy with the ball with slower ones as the Indian middle order comes in the game.
SA vs IND : Match Prediction
Indians have a strong batting lineup, but the bowling attack is relatively young and inexperienced. Most of the bowlers haven’t played in South African conditions, and the spin-heavy attack must overcome the odds to do well. The South Africans have a strong batting lineup and a bowling attack suited for these conditions. We expect a close game, but the South Africans, playing at their home, have an edge. Team bowling first to win the match
Scenario 1
India win the toss and opt to bowl first
PP Score: 40-50
SA: 180-200
India win the match
Scenario 2
South Africa win the toss and opt to bowl first
PP Score: 40-50
IND: 170-190
South Africa win the match