India play South Africa in the first T20 international on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram from 7:00 PM IST (Indian Standard Time).
The Indian cricket team won a nail-biting match against Australia at Hyderabad to seal victory in the three-match series by a 2-1 margin. Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli ran the show with the bat while Axar Patel was once again clinical with the ball against the Aussies.
Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested for the series against South Africa. Deepak Hooda’s injury will also rule of out of the series and Mohammed Shami, who was initially a part of the squad, is yet to recover from COVID-19.
South Africa have won four of the last five T20Is, helping them win the three-match series against England, followed by a cleansweep against Ireland. The Proteas failed to qualify for the semi-final in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. In 2016, the visitors beat India in a three-match T20I series.
India vs South Africa 1st T20I Gullybet odds
India Gullybet odds and win probability: 1.41
South Africa Gullybet odds and win probability: 3.00
Note: Odds are subject to change. Please visit Gullybet to check and confirm the latest odds.
India vs South Africa head-to-head in T20Is
The South African cricket team played a T20I series against India in June 2022. The Men in Blue won the third and fourth T20I after the visitors had won the first two. The series decider was abandoned and the series ended tied at 2-2.
Overall, India have slightly edged this head-to-head, winning 11 of the 20 matches in this fixture. South Africa have won eight.
India beat South Africa on the penultimate ball of the match in the first-ever T20I played between the two nations in 2006. It was also India’s first match in this format and Sachin Tendulkar’s only appearance for India in T20Is.
India vs South Africa squads
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Temba Bavuma (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristian Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Rilee Rossouw.
India vs South Africa 1st T20I probable playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Temba Bavuma (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristian Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Keshav Maharaj.
India vs South Africa 1st T20I combined fantasy XI
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Aiden Markram, Tristian Stubbs, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
India top picks and players to watch out for 1st T20I vs South Africa
Suryakumar Yadav: The Indian middle-order batter looked in ominous form against Australia in the recently concluded T20I at Hyderabad. Following his match-winning 69-run knock in the third match, Suryakumar Yadav ended the three-match series against Australia as the top run-scorer in T20Is this year. Suryakumar has the ability to score at a rapid rate from the get-go, smashing at a strike-rate of 174.71 in 29 innings in this format internationally.
Axar Patel: With Ravindra Jadeja injured, fellow left-arm all-rounder Axar Patel has stepped up to the challenge and delivered a series-winning performance for India in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia. Axar finished with eight wickets in the series, five more than the second-best, to earn the Player of the Series award. The 28-year-old has picked 29 wickets in 29 T20 internationals for India.
South Africa top picks and players to watch out for 1st T20I vs India
Quinton de Kock: The South African wicketkeeper batter comes into the series on the back of a fruitful stint with the Barbados Royals in CPL 2022. De Kock found his rhythm in the two knocks of 74 and 64 against the Jamaica Tallawahs in recent games. He has accumulated 173 runs against India in five innings in T20Is.
Kagiso Rabada: South Africa’s premier pacer has been a thorn in the side of Indian batters. Rabada crossed the 50-wicket mark in T20Is in South Africa’s earlier tour of India in June 2022. He also picked 14 wickets in the recently concluded three-match Test series against England.
India vs South Africa 1st T20I prediction
India overcame the South African challenge after going down by two games earlier this year and beat Australia at home in the three-match T20I series.
Death bowling concerns will be reduced with the availability of Arshdeep Singh while the Men in Blue have been potent with the bat in the last few games. India are expected to take a 1-0 lead in the series at Thiruvananthapuram.
Meanwhile, South Africa have also been in good knick in this format and their performance on the latest tour of India was also impressive. The Proteas are tipped to challenge India for the win in this upcoming encounter.
India vs South Africa 1st T20I playing conditions and weather report
Maximum Temperature: 31°C
Precipitation: 12%
Humidity: 56%
Wind: 8 km/h
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