Big picture: Two contrasting T20I runs
Both India and South Africa had a sensational T20 World Cup 2024. They sailed through the group stage unbeaten and then topped their respective groups in the Super Eight before registering comfortable wins in the semi-finals. Even in the final, there was little to separate the two teams right till the end.
Since then, though, their fortunes have taken different paths, especially in T20Is.
Despite losing three big players to retirement after the World Cup triumph, India have enjoyed a seamless transition with Suryakumar Yadav taking over and the youngsters fitting in well. They are currently on a 11-match winning streak, which includes a series victory in Zimbabwe, series sweeps against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and a win in the opening game of the series against South Africa on Friday.
India have played 23 T20Is this year and won 22 with the only loss coming against Zimbabwe in the first T20I in early July. And critically, they have achieved a lot of these wins without their first-choice T20I players. They can equal their best-ever streak of 12 (which they have achieved twice), if they manage to win the second T20I against South Africa in Gqeberha on Sunday.
On the other end, South Africa have struggled since that final loss. They lost 3-0 to West Indies in Tarouba, while their series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi finished 1-1. The Durban loss extends that run.
One thing that helped South Africa dominate the T20 World Cup was how brilliantly the entire group gelled together. That's one thing they have lacked in the last few T20Is. Their captain Aiden Markram has struggled with form while they have also missed a crux of their main players in the XI.
Now down 1-0 in the four-match series, South Africa will be desperate to get back to winning ways at a venue where they have registered three wins in four outings, including one against India last year. Can they do that?
Form guide
South Africa LLWLL (last five T20Is, most recent first)
India WWWWW
In the spotlight: Gerald Coetzee and Arshdeep Singh
While all the other South Africa bowlers were taken to the cleaners in the first T20I, Gerald Coetzee was the only one who provided a semblance of control. He was fiery, extracted good bounce and had the India batters on their toes. According to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data, 14 of his 24 deliveries were either short or short of a good length and that helped him take wickets. The surface in Gqeberha is likely to assist his hit-the-deck style of bowling.
Arshdeep Singh has been one of the key reasons behind India's glorious T20I run in 2024. He's played just 15 matches and already has 29 wickets, the second-highest for a player from a Full-Member nation this year. In Gqeberha, too, he has a few records in sight. Currently fourth on the list for most T20I wickets for India with 88, Arshdeep has a chance to go past Jasprit Bumrah (89) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (90) and rise to second place behind Yuzvendra Chahal (96). With India scheduled to play three more T20Is this year, he also has a chance to claim the record for the most wickets taken in a calendar year by an India pacer, currently held by Bhuvneshwar who scalped 37 in 2022.
Team news: Will India hand Ramandeep a debut?
Nqabayomzi Peter looked out of sorts in the opening T20I and could be replaced by fast bowler Ottneil Baartman. Reeza Hendricks missed the opening T20I due to illness, and if fit, is likely to slot back at the top. It remains to be seen if he comes in place of Ryan Rickelton or Patrick Kruger, who had a tough outing in Durban - both with bat and ball.
South Africa (probable): 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Aiden Markram (capt), 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 David Miller, 6 Partrick Kruger, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Andile Simelane, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Nqabayomzi Peter/Ottneil Baartman
It was slightly surprising to see India go with three spinners in Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy. In Gqeberha, where the surface is likely to aid more pace, they might look to bring in Ramandeep Singh, who can play the finisher's role and provide a few overs of medium pace. India are unlikely to make any changes to their batting.
India (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel/Ramandeep Singh, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
Pitch and conditions
There is a bit of rain in the air in Gqeberha, but it is unlikely to affect the match. The surface is likely to have plenty for the fast bowlers with good bounce and carry. The temperature is likely to hover around the low to mid 20 degrees on the Celsius scale.
Stats and trivia
Hardik Pandya, currently on 87 T20I wickets, has a chance to leapfrog Arshdeep (88), Bumrah (89) and Bhuvneshwar (90) and move to second on India's all-time T20I wicket-takers list.
Sanju Samson became just the fourth batter to score successive T20I centuries in Durban. No batter has scored three consecutive centuries in T20Is to date
Samson's strike rate of 180.66 is the highest for any Full Member batter in 2024 with a minimum of 300 runs
India have a terrific T20I record against South Africa in South Africa: seven wins and three losses in ten matches
Quotes
"When you're playing an opponent like South Africa, we know the energy they bring with them and they have a really great team walking in and they play their cricket really aggressively. We just have to respect them and do what we are known for. We are the world champions at the moment, so I think we have to play like that and we just have to take care of what is in our control and just keep on looking to dominate in this format, which we have been doing for last one year."
Sanju Samson says India will keep on going hard with the bat irrespective of the opposition
"We were just in the final of a T20 World Cup. Now is a new team. There is a World Cup coming up the year after, so we need new blood. There is plenty of talent, we've seen that. It's just the boys need experience, need to sharpen their skills and we'll be good to go."
Gerald Coetzee isn't thinking too much about South Africa's recent loss of form
