IND vs SA: India looks to sharpen up; South Africa hopes to turn fortunes in T20 format

The third and final, and possibly the most important, part of South Africa’s tour of India gets underway on Tuesday, with the two teams facing off in the first of five T20Is at the Barabati Stadium here.

The Men in Blue have been almost unstoppable in this format, winning all six bilaterals (26 wins, four defeats) since clinching the T20 World Cup in 2024. With the title defence coming up on home soil next year, the focus will remain on fine-tuning an already well-oiled machine.

Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya return to the squad, the former recovering from a neck spasm and the latter overcoming a quadriceps injury.

Much of the side’s fortunes depend on how the opening pair of Gill and Abhishek Sharma go about their business. The latter has been the best in the business lately, his 27 sixes the most by any player in T20Is this year.

Having made merry in Australia, where he topped the charts for India (163 runs), he comes into the series on the back of scintillating performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 304 runs for Punjab at an average of 50.66 and an astonishing strike rate of 249.18.

Jasprit Bumrah returns to the squad after being rested for the ODI series and he will be raring to go, with a red soil pitch, offering bounce and pace and sourced from Maharashtra, awaiting both teams.

Shubman Gill is making his comeback into the Indian team after recovering from a neck spasm.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

That said, there are a few issues to iron out too, starting with Suryakumar Yadav’s form, who has averaged only 15.33 this year. Tilak Verma has also found runs hard to come by, scoring just 34 runs in three matches Down Under.

The Proteas, unlike their opponents, have been in dismal form in T20Is this year, winning just five of 14 matches. In fact, they have won just one series (of eight) since last year’s showpiece event.

Their fortunes will bank on opener Quinton de Kock to continue his fine form in India, averaging 50.88 in T20Is. With Dewald Brevis striking at 223 in the middle overs, the best by any player this year, there’s enough firepower in the tank for the visitors.

On the bowling front, Corbin Bosch has been South Africa’s best T20 bowler this year, with 17 wickets to his name. While Tony de Zorzi and Kwena Maphaka have been ruled out of the series because of injury, the squad will be boosted by the return of pacer Anrich Nortje, who will be making his first international appearance since the 2024 T20 World Cup final.

The presence of George Linde will also give the side a boost in both departments, the veteran striking at 137.02 with the bat and picking up 27 wickets with a 7.33 economy in 25 matches.

The two teams have squared off in T20Is at this venue twice before (2015 and 2022), with South Africa coming out on top both times.

With temperature on matchday expected to drop to around 12°C, India and South Africa are well poised to bring on the heat.

Published on Dec 08, 2025