SA vs IND, 1st T20I, Preview: New-look South Africa hope for change in fortunes

India and South Africa will lock horns in the first of the three-match T20I series on Sunday after a one-sided ODI contest which was highly unexpected before it began. While the hosts are looking to turn the tables over the Men in Blue with the change in personnel in the shortest format, Virat Kohli and his team would love to continue their dominance on the tour. However, there is a quick turnaround for them with only a single day break between the last ODI and the opening T20 International.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) opted to rest their gun players for the much awaited upcoming Test series against Australia. They have included a lot of T20 specialists in the squad who performed well in the domestic T20 tournament. But again the players would be new to the wrist-spinners of the visitors who wrecked havoc in the recently concluded series against them. Adapting quickly to the conditions would be key for them as the fresh group look to turn the fortunes of the team.

India, on the other hand, is enjoying a happy space after thumping South Africa in a grand fashion by 5-1 and would be hoping to wrap up the tour in the same way. Moreover, a few of the T20 specialists have already arrived and were seen in the dressing room during the final ODI. The only concern for the team would be the quick turnaround between the two series as there is only a gap of a single day. It is important they switch onto T20 mode soon in order to dominate the opposition.

The smaller dimensions of the ground should make the game exciting and the pitch is also likely to be flat with a lot of runs to plunder. The team batting second has won four out of five encounters in the T20Is played at the venue and the teams will prefer doing the same after winning the toss.

Toss: SA won the toss and opted to field

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

SA (Playing XI): JJ Smuts, Hendricks, Duminy, Miller, Klaasen, Behardien, Morris, Phehlukwayo, Paterson, Dala, Shamsi

Playing Combinations

South Africa

The likes of Reeza Hendricks and JJ Smuts are with the national side for over a year now and must have got settled into their roles. Both are known to provide quick starts to the team but are yet to set the stage on fire for South Africa. The middle-order is quite experienced with the presence of AB de Villiers, skipper JP Duminy and David Miller. The bowling attack is a little bit inexperienced but expect a debut to the impressive Junior Dala who has been picked over his performances in the domestic circuit.

India

The top three for the Indian team remains the same with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opening the innings and the captain Virat Kohli following them. The problem lies in the middle order for them and Suresh Raina could straightaway find himself in the XI after returning to the side after more than 12 months. The bowling attack selects itself with Hardik Pandya expected to retain his place after having a decent outing in the last couple of matches.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jaydev Unadkat

Head to Head

Matches – 10 India – 6 South Africa – 4

Focus will be on

JP Duminy (South Africa)

JP Duminy will be under immense pressure going into this game with an added responsibility. He failed to impress in the ODI series despite being promoted to number 3 in the line-up. He will once again be tested when he will come out to bat 4 during the T20Is. Probably he is one of the best players of spin in the team and will need to bring all his experience while facing the in-form bowling attack of the visitors. Duminy has to lead from the front if South Africa needs to have any chance of trumping India.

Rohit Sharma (India)

Rohit Sharma scored the joint-fastest century in T20Is when he featured for India in the shortest format. He was also the captain with Kohli being rested against Sri Lanka. He has endured a comparatively poor run on this tour and has scored only a solitary century. This is an excellent chance for the Hitman of India to turn around this long tour of South Africa personally. If he finds his groove in the series, the hosts once again might be on the receiving end much like the ODIs.

Stat Attack

51.2 – Batting average of Rohit Sharma in the T20Is against South Africa. Rohit scored 309 runs in seven T20I innings against SA with a hundred and two fifties.

43 – Virat Kohli needs 43 runs to become the third player to complete 2000 T20I runs.

Match Timings: 6 PM IST

Broadcast Details

TV: Sony Ten 1 (English) and Sony Ten 3 (Hindi)

Live Streaming: SonyLiv