The last time South Africa had toured India a couple of months ago, the three-match T20I series had ended in a 1-1 draw after the rain had played spoilsport in the third game. With the T20 World Cup waiting at the doors, the upcoming three-match T20I series between two teams will hold a lot of significance as both teams will look to fill in the missing pieces and get the crucial game time under their belt.
We take a look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form for India: W W L W L
India recently defeated Australia by 2-1 and they will look to continue the good form. However, there is no doubt that their death bowling is becoming a major concern and that box could not be ticked despite the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel. The duo was returning from injury and both of them will look to bounce back stronger against the Proteas.
Current form for South Africa: W W L W W
South Africa, on the other hand, won the previous three-match T20I series against England and they will be determined to continue the good form. Temba Bavuma will return to the Proteas squad after he was earlier ruled with an elbow injury.
Head to Head: Matches: 22, Won by India: 11, Won by South Africa: 8, NR: 1, Abandoned: 2.
India holds a slight advantage in the head-to-head battle against South Africa.
Players to look out for: Players to watch out for: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yuzvendra Chahal will hold the key for India.
Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, and Reeza Hendricks will hold the key for the visitors.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Umesh Yadav, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shreyas Iyer
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Bjorn Fortuin, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo
