Team India will lock horns against South Africa in the first of the five-match T20I series on Thursday (June 9) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Both teams will look to win the series-opener and take an early lead.
The hosts suffered a massive setback on the eve of the game with skipper KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav ruled out of the entire series due to injuries. Rishabh Pant, who was earlier named as the deputy, has been appointed as captain while all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be his deputy.
It is a relatively younger side and the players will be full of energy and exuberance to prove their mettle at the highest stage. It remains to be seen whether young pace sensation Umran Malik gets a game in Delhi.
.@RishabhPant17 takes us through his emotions on leading #TeamIndia. 👍 👍#INDvSA | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/EVS59jHtMw
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 8, 2022
South Africa, on the other hand, have a star-studded squad at their disposal, including players, who recently plied trade in the IPL 2022. Skipper Temba Bavuma has already asserted that they are here to win and will want to make a statement right from the first game.
Match Details
1st T20I – India vs South Africa
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
Date & Time: 9th June at 7:00 pm IST and Local time
Pitch Report
Chasing has been a trend in T20Is at the venue, and would likely be the captain’s choice at toss tomorrow as well. It is a good batting track with plenty of runs on the cards.
Predicted Playing XI
India (IND): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh/Avesh Khan
South Africa (SA): Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie Van der Dussen,Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Dwaine Pretorius/Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
Match Prediction
India enjoy a good record at home, having won their last nine matches against New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka. However, South Africa have an experienced squad at their disposal and is backed to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Betway has backed the visiting team to win the match and has placed their odds in favour of South Africa at 2.20.
IND vs SA – Fantasy Team Predictions
Fantasy Team 1: Quinton de Kock, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Aiden Markram (C), Yuzvendra Chahal (VC), Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel
Fantasy Team 2: Quinton de Kock (VC), Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (C), David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Aiden Markram, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel
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