ABOUT THE MATCH
After a disastrous World Cup campaign, the winds of change are blowing in the South African cricketing setup. The side has parted ways with coach Ottis Gibson and the captaincy has also been handed over to Quinton de Kock, at least in the shorter formats for the time being The 1st T20I of the three-match series between India and South Africa will be played at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.
TOSS PREDICTION
And since the pitch is expected to remain good for batting throughout the duration of the game, the team that wins the toss here will probably prefer to bat first the average score while batting first in Dharamshala is 148 par.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
There is a good chance of showers accompanied by thunderstorms on Sunday evening. The meteorological department has predicted plenty of cloud cover throughout the match. Temperature is expected to be around 16-17 degrees Celsius and humidity around 80%.
The surface is something of an unknown. And the rule in India is when you are in doubt, bat first as it should take spin late in the game regardless of how it starts off.
Top Order Analysis:
Middle Order Analysis:
Top Order and Middle Order Analysis:
Top bowlers Analysis:
MATCH PREVIEW
India
- After a highly successful tour of the West Indies, India has won all three series in each format of the game.
- They return home for three T20s, three Test matches, and three one-day internationals for South Africa’s Tour of India and the shortest format starting first in Dharamshala.
- With Jasprit Bumrah rested and MS Dhoni taking a pause from the game amid speculation of the legend contemplating retirement, India is slightly under-strength but have still named a hugely talented squad that has to be favored to win this series.
- Deepak Chahar, Washington Sundar, and Khaleel Ahmed are all expected to be given another chance to impress in this series, while T20 specialists like Hardik and Krunal Pandya both return to the fold to support a top-six batting line-up that is as strong as any in the game right now and is led by Virat Kohli
| Top 3 batsman India | Top 3 Middle Order India | Top 3 Bowler India |
| Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | Deepak Chahar |
| Shikhar Dhawan | Manish Pandey | Navdeep Saini |
| Virat Kohli | Hardik Pandya | K Khaleel Ahmed |
South Africa
- South Africa’s focus turns towards T20 competition now ahead of next year’s World Cup and they start to ramp their schedule up now after playing only 14 matches in the last two years in this format of the game.
- Quinton de Kock has been named as captain of the team and the squad has a young look about it with there being no Faf du Plessis, with much more responsibility on the likes of Bavuma, Van der Dussen, and Reeza Hendricks
- The bowling attack still boasts star Kagiso Rabada who will have benefited from a rest recently after a busy schedule, but they have high hopes for talented yet raw fast bowler Anrich Nortje who is fit again and will be raring to test himself against India.
| Top 3 batsman South Africa | Top 3 Middle Order South Africa | Top 3 Bowler South Africa |
| Quinton de Kock | Dwaine Pretorius | Kagiso Rabada |
| Reeza Hendricks | David Miller | Junior Dala |
| Rassie van der Dussen | Andile Phehlukwayo | Tabraiz Shamsi |
PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:
India and South Africa are in the experimental mode to a degree but once the action gets underway, they will battle it out for supremacy here. South Africa has plenty of talent in their squad, but it may take them some time to adjust to conditions, and India’s insanely strong batting line-up gives them the edge here.
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