India vs South Africa, 1st T20I Stats Preview: Players records and approaching milestones

After beating the Australians in a three-match series by a margin of 2-1, Rohit Sharma and his team India are all set to play one final series against South Africa before the T20 World Cup which is slated to begin next month down under. The first of three encounters against the Proteas will take place at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. The second and the last game will be played on October 02 and 04 in Guwahati and Indore respectively.

Speaking about the Australia series, Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel were the shining lights for India in the series. The former scored 115 runs, the second-most only behind Cameron Green’s tally of 118. The right-handed batter, who has amassed the most runs overall in T20Is in 2022, played a match and series-winning knock of 69 off 36 in the pursuit of 187 runs target. Virat Kohli, who returned to form since the start of the Asia Cup, too smashed 63 as the Men in Blue sealed the deal in Hyderabad.

Talking about the tourists, they are yet to lose a T20I series this year. The South Africans are visiting the Indian shores for the second time in 2022 with a five-match series getting drawn 2-2 back in June. Since then, they have beaten England in England and Ireland in their own den. With these matches being the final chance for team India, they would look to continue the winning momentum that would give them a solid boost entering the marquee tournament in Australia in October.

The team will be missing the services of Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, and Deepak Hooda. It is understood that Shreyas Iyer and Shahbaz Ahmed have been called up for the series. The Rainbow nation, who are also undefeated in three T20I series (2015, 2019, and 2022) in India, would hope to keep their record intact by starting well in the opening fixture.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of the 1^st T20I between India and South Africa:

Head-to-Head:  India and South Africa have faced each other in 20 T20 internationals so far with the Men in Blue sealing victories on 11 occasions and South Africa on eight with one game ending in no result. In India, the Proteas have a better record of five wins and three losses out of nine.

1 – Suryakumar Yadav (42) needs one six to surpass Mohammad Rizwan (42 in 2021) and become the batter with the most maximums in T20Is in a calendar year.

3 – Quinton de Kock (197) is three fours away from completing 200 fours in T20Is.

8 – Suryakumar Yadav (682) needs eight runs to go past Shikhar Dhawan (689 in 2018) and become the Indian batter with the most T20I runs in a calendar year.

56 – David Miller (1944) is 56 runs away from reaching the landmark of 2000 runs in T20 internationals.

1 – Lungi Ngidi (49) needs one scalp to get to 50 T20I wickets.

1 – Yuzvendra Chahal (85) needs one scalp to surpass Bhuvneshwar Kumar (85) and become the leading wicket-taker for India in T20Is.

66 – Rishabh Pant (934) is 66 runs short of reaching the landmark of 1000 T20I runs.

4 – Keshav Maharaj (196) requires four scalps to complete 200 wickets across formats.

74 – Suryakumar Yadav (926) needs 74 runs to get to 1000 runs in T20 internationals.

1 – Rohit Sharma (71) requires one six to surpass Martin Guptill (71) and become the player with most maximums while chasing in T20 internationals.

5 – Andile Phehlukwayo (45) is five scalps away from completing 50 wickets in T20I cricket.

32 – Quinton de Kock (10968) is 32 runs short of reaching 11000 runs in international cricket.

63 – Reeza Hendricks (1937) needs 63 runs to get to 2000 runs in international cricket.

4 – Rilee Rossouw (46) requires four fours to complete 50 fours in the shortest international format.