India vs South Africa 1st T20I match today: 5 players to watch out for

After winning the three-match T20I series against Australia, India will face South Africa in a three-match T20I and 3 One Day International (ODI) matches at home starting today at Thiruvananthapuram. India will play the Proteas in the first T20I today, with the second game on October 2 and the final match on October 4.

• The last time India and South Africa faced off was in June 2022, and the Proteas overpowered the Indian team in the first two matches.
• But, the Indian team came made a comeback in the next two matches, winning both the games.
• The fifth and final T20I match ended in a draw due to rain. The series ended in a tie. 

Head-to-head record: India has faced South Africa in 20 T20I matches. Out of these, India won 11 games while SA won 8. 1 game ended without a result. SA have defeated India in five games in India, while India won 3 games. 

Changes in the team before the series:

• Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya have been rested for the series against SA ahead of the World Cup. They will be reporting to the NCA for conditioning-related work.
• Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who had a decent Asia Cup run, is included in the squad.
• Umesh Yadav has replaced Mohammad Shami, who is still recovering from Covid-19.
• Also, Shreyas Iyer and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed have been included in the squad ahead of the first T20I.

Here are 5 players to watch out for today:

1. Suryakumar Yadav: The right-handed batter had an unforgettable series against Australia. In the final match, Yadav scored 69 off 36 balls and won the match with Virat Kohli. In the first game too, he scored 46 off 25 balls, though India lost the match defending 208; after a good all-round performance by Australia's Cameron Green, Mathew Wade, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith. 

• Yadav's batting position was discussed a lot in the recent days and seeing his performance, it seems captain Rohit Sharma and Head Coach Rahul Dravid would keep him there.
• He also wasn't included in the squad the last time when South Africa toured India. Today, he will be up against the likes of pacers Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Aiden Markram.

2. Arshdeep Singh: The left-arm seamer made his debut against England in July and started his international career with a maiden over. He has the abiilty to bowl quick yorkers in the death overs.

• So far, in 11 T20I matches, the Madhya-Pradesh seamer has scalped 14 wickets at an average of 20.14 and economy of 7.38.
• He has been included in the T20I World Cup squad and his performance against South Africa will determine his chances of being in the Playing XI in the team in World Cup.

3. Lungi Ngidi: The left-arm medium pacer is one of the promising pacers of the South Africa team today. He often bowls over 140 kmph and is very good in death overs. He got only one game against India, which was the fourth T20I.

• In that game, Ngidi got the wickets of opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and Hardik Pandya.
• He ended his spell with 2 wickets in  3 overs with an impressive economy of 6.67.  

With Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram, Ngidi can trouble any top batting order.

4. Aiden Markram: The all-rounder is a key player in the South African squad.

• In the last five T20I games, Markram has scored 186 runs at an average of 37.2.
• His overall batting strike rate in T20I cricket is 152.64,
• and he has 722 runs in 23 matches at an average of 42.

He didn't get a game against India in June and most probably, he will be in the Playing X1 today as he is in very good form.

In the last three T20 games, Markram's scores were 51, 56 and 27.

5. Dwaine Pretorious: He is another strong all-rounder of South Africa. He has an impressive bowling performance and of late, he has also turned a good death over specialist for South Africa.

• In the 2021 T20I world cup, Pretorius finished the tournament with a total of nine wickets.
• He comes down the order and plays good cameos for the team.
• He featured in the last T20I series against India and was sent at number third to bat.
• He had a fine season, as he clinched 5 wickets in four matches.

It will be interesting to see which position he bats today; as against Ireland and England, he was sent to bat at number 7. 

The match will start at 7.30 pm today and be broadcast live on Star Sports and will stream online on Disney+Hotstar.