South Africa Tour Of India 2022, IND vs SA Head To Head Records, 1st T20I

South Africa Tour Of India 2022, IND vs SA Head To Head Records, 1st T20I. After an enthralling victory over Australia in the final game to take the series 2-1, India will be gearing up to take on South Africa for a three-match T20I series.

The first match of the series will be played at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on 28th September from 7 pm onwards. This will be the second time South Africa visiting India to play a T20I series in 2022.

India came back stronger against Australia after losing the first T20I game despite posting above 200. They won the second T20I game- a rain-curtailed 8-over affair by 6 wickets and the third T20I by 6 wickets. Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav both scored half-centuries to win the 3rd T20I for India with one ball to spare. Spinner Axar Patel was named man of the series for picking 8 wickets with the ball. This was India’s first T20I series win in 15 years against Australia.

South Africa’s success in this T20I format took a turn last year. Since then they have won 5 out of the 6 T20 series and have drawn one. The drawn series one came against India when they visited them in June. The Proteas were 2-0 up in the 5-match series but lost the next two T20Is by big margins. They are yet to lose a T20I series in India. Out of three T20I series on Indian soil, they have won one and have drawn 2.

A series win against Australia showed India’s plus as well as minus points clearly. As a batting unit, they have gathered the best squad to go to the ICC World T20I next month. Except for KL Rahul, the top order has been playing some next-level game. KL Rahul’s consistency and strike rate are yet to justify his place.

On the other hand, other batters Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav in the top order depict a completely different picture. Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, and Axar Patel in the middle have bought more stability to the Indian side, but Hardik Pandya has been rested for this series.

Dinesh Karthik has played the role of the finisher in many games since his comeback. Axar Patel who replaced Ravindra Jadeja in the playing 11 was the leading wicket-taker in the Australia series with 8 wickets and took the player of the series award.

With the batting and all-rounder unit performing well above expectations, India’s drawbacks lie in its bowling department. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel are yet to find their feet after the injury. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been consistent throughout the year but he has been rested for the upcoming Proteas series.

BCCI has added Shreyas Iyer and Shahbaz Ahmed to their squad for the upcoming three-match series against Proteas. The development comes after it was learned that Deepak Hooda has been ruled out of the T20I series due to a back spasm and in his place, Shreyas Iyer has been recalled into the India squad whereas Shahbaz Ahmed has been called as a replacement for Hardik Pandya, who has been rested.

Mohammad Shami has failed to recover from Covid-19 and has been ruled out of the series against South Africa. In his place, Umesh Yadav, who was named as his replacement for the Australia series, will continue to be with the squad.

India’s Predicted Playing XI:-Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

South Africa will be eager to test its squad depth as a preparation for the 2022 T20I World Cup. Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock will open the innings. Quinton de Kock has 2 fifties in the last 4 games against India. Reeza Hendricks will be the point of attraction. Reeza Hendricks was the leading run-scorer in SA’s both series against England and Ireland.

Aiden Markram and Rilee Rossouw in the middle will be a threat to the Indian bowling attack. SA will have a dilemma to choose between Henrich Klassen and Tristan Stubbs. Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Lungi Ngidi will lead the pace attack.

Wayne Parnell and Andile Phehlukwayo will also be in contention. But Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje’s form in the Test series again England showed that they will be the obvious choices. Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi are the Proteas spin options. Tabraiz Shamsi was the leading wicket-taker against England.

South Africa’s Predicted Playing XI:-Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Rilee Rossouw, Henrich Klassen, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Tabraiz Shamsi.

South Africa Tour Of India 2022, IND vs SA Head To Head Records, 1st T20I

India and South Africa have faced 22 times in T20Is. India has won 11 and South Africa emerged victorious 8 times while 3 matches have been abandoned. Rohit Sharma is the leading run-getter with 362 runs while Suresh Raina trails him with 339 runs.

JP Duminy is the 3rd highest run-getter and Proteas’ leading run scorer with 295 runs. Rohit Sharma (106) and Suresh Raina (101) have scored tons in bilateral matches.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps while Ravichandran Ashwin has 10 scalps besides his name. The former has registered the best bowling figures of 5/14 but can’t add to his tally as he has been rested in this series.

The last time the two teams met was in June 2022, South Africa won the 1st two T20Is but India came back by winning the next two before the last 5th T20I was abandoned due to rain.