India's tour of South Africa 2024: Top 5 key player battles to watch out for in SA vs IND 1st T20I

The SA vs IND series comprises of four T20Is, from November 8 to 15.

Starting November 8 in Durban, South Africa will be hosting India in a four-T20I series, which will conclude on November 15.

This will be the first time since India and South Africa will clash since their thrilling ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final meeting, in which the Men In Blue emerged victorious by a slender margin.

With India’s test squad flying to Australia, and three senior players retiring, Suryakumar Yadav, the new T20I skipper, will be leading a set of young, inexperienced and fringe players, including three uncapped, to South Africa.

The hosts, on the other hand, have a strong unit with several players from the final in June, barring Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, Tabraiz Shamsi and Anrich Nortje, part of this series.

Both teams are filled with world-class players who will collide in what promises to be an exciting series. On that note, let’s take a look at five mouth-watering player battles that await us in the first SA vs IND T20I.

Top 5 key player battles to watch out for in SA vs IND 1st T20I:

1. Aiden Markram vs Arshdeep Singh

An exciting player battle that awaits us could be between Markram and Arshdeep. The left-pacer dismissed the South African captain in the final of the T20 World Cup in Barbados for only four runs.

Overall, Arshdeep Singh has kept a lid on Markram’s scoring rate. In 41 balls faced from Arshdeep in T20Is, Markram has scored 51 runs, managing a strike rate of only 124 while being dismissed once. He has dismissed Markram once in IPL as well.

2. David Miller vs Hardik Pandya

Former teammates at Gujarat Titans, Miller and Pandya are set to clash in this series. They would know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, having spent two IPL seasons together.

Pandya got the better of Miller in the T20 World Cup final, the left-hander’s wicket effectively sealing the trophy for India. Pandya has dismissed Miller four times in T20Is in 30 balls while conceding only 30 runs.

2. Heinrich Klaasen vs Hardik Pandya

In the T20 World Cup final, Pandya took the momentum-changing wicket of Heinrich Klaasen in the 17th over of South Africa’s chase, and that allowed India to come back into the game.

Their battles in T20Is have been balanced: Pandya has dismissed Klaasen twice but has been spanked for 52 runs in 33 balls.

4. Suryakumar Yadav vs Keshav Maharaj

India captain Suryakumar Yadav is in good form in T20 cricket (when has he been not in form, though, in the last five years?) Suryakumar hit a century on this previous T20I tour to South Africa.

He has taken a special liking to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. Yadav has hammered Maharaj for 69 runs in 43 balls in T20Is. It would be interesting to see how Maharaj counters the threat of Suryakumar in the upcoming SA vs IND series.

5. Sanju Samson vs Marco Jansen

Sanju Samson is fresh from a sizzling maiden T20I century that he blasted against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, an innings that finally proved that Samson can be successful in international cricket.

Facing Marco Jansen with the new ball on South African pitches, though, will be a much more challenging task for Samson than facing the Bangladesh bowlers in Hyderabad. Success here would propel Samson further ahead in the measurement of the selectors.

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