South Africa won the Test series 2-0, India took the ODI series 2-1 and the tour now heads into the final stage, the five-match T20I series. Tuesday’s game in Cuttack is the first game of the series.
India have won four of the last five T20Is against South Africa.
India are the top ranked T20I side in the world while South Africa is ranked fifth.
India boasts three batsmen in the ICC’s Top Ten T20I players. Abishek Sharma is at one, Tilak Varma at five and skipper Suryakumar Yadav at eight.
The top ranked Protea batsmen is currently Dewald Brevis who is at 11 on the ICC list. Brevis holds the record for the highest ever score by a Protea batsman in a T20I.
India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy is the top ranked T20I bowler in the world. He is the only player from either side in the current top ten.
Shubman Gill missed the entire ODI series against South Africa, but he is fit again and in the squad for the T20I series.
With the T20 World Cup set to start in early February the series against India (who are the World Cup hosts) is a key component of the Proteas preparation for the showpiece event. Once this series is over the Proteas play four T20Is against the West Indies before it is World Cup time.
There are several changes to the Proteas squad for the T20I series. Tristan Stubbs is back after taking a break for the ODIs. T20I specialist Reeza Hendricks is in the squad while Anrich Nortje and David Miller make their long-awaited returns from injury.
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
South Africa has an excellent record in Cuttack; they have okayed two T20I at the venue and won both – both those wins were against India.
India have won just once in three attempts in Cuttack. They beat Sri Lanka at the venue in 2017.
The Barabati Stadium has staged just three previous T20Is. In each of those three games the side that won the toss opted to field first.
The average first innings score at Barabati Stadium is 140 runs.
The highest score made at the ground was India’s 180/3 in 20 overs made against Sri Lanka in 2017.
The highest score successfully chased at the ground was South Africa’s 149/6 in 18.2 overs made against India in 2022.
Weather:
It will be a mostly cloudy day in Cuttack on Tuesday, with comfortable, mode3rate temperatures. The forecast predicts a high of 27 degrees and a low of 14. Humidity will be low, around 45%. Winds are expected to be light, ensuring a pleasant and dry atmosphere throughout the day.
Form (most recent game first):
India: NR, W, W, L, NR.
South Africa: L, L, W, L, A.
Key player:
India, Abhishek Sharma: He is the top ranked T20I batsman in the world and he comes into the series on the back of scoring a bucketload of runs in domestic T20 cricket. Little more than a week ago he smashed 148 for Punjab against Bengal and he has followed that up with knocks of 50, 34 and 62. No batsman in international T20I cricket has a higher career strike rate than Sharma who scores his runs at a rate of 189,51.
South Africa, Dewald Brevis: The Proteas top ranked T20I player is ideally suited to the shortest form of the game. He is a clean hitter of the ball and he loves going aerial. His highest score on the format is an undefeated 125 made against Australia earlier in the year. Brevis comes into Tuesday’s game with 400 career runs in T20Is – of those runs 210 of them (IE: more than half) are sixes while a further 80 are fours. He bats at a strike rate of 180.
Verdict: India
This will be a close game, but we are tipping India to get it over the line. They are the best team in the world, and they are playing at home. The Proteas will be full of confidence from what has been a pleasing tour thus far and they still go into the encounter as underdogs, which means they have nothing to lose – but this one will still go India’s way.
