India vs South Africa 1st T20I Highlights: Arshdeep, Suryakumar take IND to 8-wicket win on tough pitch against SA

Never have India been able to beat South Africa in T20I series at home. In fact, just thrice have India beat South Africa in bilateral T20I series, and two of those were one-off matches. All of those wins came away from home. It is very unusual for a team to be unbeaten against India in India in any format of the game. 

This is what the BCCI has said about it: “Jasprit Bumrah complained of back pain during India's practice session on Tuesday. The BCCI Medical Team assessed him. He is ruled out of the first T20I.”

Ajit Agarkar and Pommie Mbangwa did the pitch report today. "Lovely stadium. Weather pretty good. As far as the dimensions are concerned the longest hit is straight - 76m. It's around 64 to 66m square of the wicket. Nice even covering of grass, but it's very very firm. Lots of runs scored on Indian pitches and this is no different. Because there is grass there might be some help with the new ball for pacers up front and there is a bit of dew, so the captains will have a watch."

Pace great Dale Steyn just gave him a special mention in Star Sports' pre-match show and with good reason. The 22-year-old has played some extraordinary innings in recent months, most noteworthy of which is the 72 he scored against England in Bristol in July. He made that score in, wait for it, 28 balls. He hit just two fours in that innings, but it didn't matter really, as he also hit an eye-watering eight sixes. It gave England a real scare and it looked like South Africa could actually chase down the mammoth target of 235 that they had set but it was not to be in the end.

“We probably would have fielded first as well. Good going over the last couple of months. This is an important series for us and we want to continue all the good work. Guys always enjoy the India trip, the energy of the guys is up again and nice to be back in action after a couple of months. Different conditions to Australia but in terms of match practice, it is a great opportunity.”

“We are going to bowl first. It was a good wicket when we played here last time. Bit of green covering but it's gonna be a good batting track. Very important to continue to do what you're doing and keep that momentum in this format. Very healthy atmosphere in the group and we also want to make sure to tick all the boxes and so far we have been doing good and we just want to continue to do that. Hardik and Bhuvi are rested from the last series. Pant and Arshdeep come in for them. Bumrah and Chahal miss out. Deepak Chahar and Ashwin are back.”

Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

So apart from Pandya and Bhuvneshwar being dropped, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal have been rested for this game. Bumrah developed a niggle in the morning. Arshdeep Singh and Rishabh Pant have been brought in alongwith Deepak Chahar and Ravichandran Ashwin.

“We are going to field first,” Rohit Sharma can be just about heard saying amid the absolute din in the stadium after winning the toss. 

It wasn't too long ago that a visit from South Africa brought with it the anticipation of watching AB de Villiers. The former Proteas captain was a joy to watch regardless of the format but it was in T20Is that he used his full range of shots frequently. He may have retired but seems to have somehow passed on his powers to Suryakumar Yadav. The 32-year-old is playing a blinder in every alternate match it seems, even consecutive matches at times this year. He has recently risen to second in the T20I rankings and Indian fans will be rubbing their hands with glee with the prospect of watching him for three more games before India fly to Australia. 

The Greenfield International Stadium has hosted just two T20Is and one ODI so far in international cricket. The last match to be held here was a T20I against the West Indies. It was a one-sided affair but a rather surprising one, in the way that it was West Indies who beat India by eight wickets with nine balls to spare.

Since holding India to 2-2 draw in the last T20I series between the two countries, South Africa went and beat England in England 2-1. Then, they went and beat Ireland in Ireland 2-0. Now they have come to beat India in India… Rohit Sharma will hope that the poetic rhythm does not continue here. 

Mohammed Shami has not travelled for the first T20I. He had missed out the Australia series due to Covid-19. Deepak Hooda too is not ready due to a back injury. India will be without Bhuvneshwar and Hardik Pandya in this series, who will undergo conditioning-related training at the NCA in Bengaluru in the lead-up to next month's World Cup.

Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reeza Hendricks, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen

Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed

We might see a unique situation today where the biggest cheers would be for a player who is not playing in this series. The Indian team was met with “Sanju! Sanju!” chants at the Thiruvananthapuram airport and the players seemed to embrace it. Suryakumar Yadav could be seen showing Samson's image on his phone to the delighted crowd while R Ashwin posted a selfie with the fans in the background with a caption that spoke about how much love they are showing for the wicketkeeper-batter. This is Sanju Samosn's home ground after all, and so all the love is to be expected, with a lot of hate towards the selectors who have not selected him for this or the previous series and, more importantly, the T20 World Cup. 

Into the final stretch of preparations for the 2022 T20 World Cup now. Last year the tournament seemed to have almost hit India before they were ready really, having played just two series throughout the year before the tournament. That is far from the case this year, with India having faced almost any team they can possibly face in multiple countries before the tournament that will be held in Australia. In the end, there is South Africa to beat. The Proteas had toured earlier this year as well, stunning them to defeat in the first two matches before the five-game series ended in a draw. There were some absolute potboilers throughout that series, let us see how this one turns out.