South Africa vs India, 1st T20I – Dafanews Match Preview

The T20 World Cup finalists – South Africa and India – will take on each other in the first T20I at Kingsmead, Durban on Friday. The series will take place before the IPL 2025 mega auction and it will be a great opportunity for both team’s players to give their best audition.

12 players from the South African squad will go under the hammer in Jeddah on November 24 and 25 and they will look to impress in the four-match T20I series against India.

We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.

Current form of India: W W W W W

After winning the T20 World Cup, India has won all of their six matches, three each against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Suryakumar Yadav has done a fine job since taking over the captaincy baton from Rohit Sharma. The young players have also played fearlessly to grab their chances.

Current form of South Africa: L W L L L

South Africa has won a solitary match since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, which came against Ireland. The Proteas were clean swept by the West Indies by 3-0 while playing away and they will want to come up with a collective effort against India.

Head to Head: Matches: 27, Won by India: 15, Won by South Africa: 11, No result: 1.

Players to watch out for: Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, and Varun Chakravarthy will hold the key for India.

Aiden Markram, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Gerald Coetzee, and Keshav Maharaj will be the crucial players for South Africa.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Patrick Kruger, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla (3rd and 4th T20Is), Tristan Stubbs.