India and South Africa will battle it out in the third game of the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup. The contest is a repeat of the 2024 T20 World Cup final, which the Nen in blue won in the last over.
If we talk about the form of both teams coming into the game, India and South Africa have been unbeaten in the 20-team competition so far and would like to prolong it by registering a win in this particular match.
However, there is onearea that the Suryakumar Yadav led side will be a bit concerned about, i.e. the form of the team’s top order, which hasn’t fired in the tournament so far and would back the top three batters especially Abhishek Sharma who is yet to open his account in thecompetition and Tilak Varma who has got starts but hasn’t been able to convert them into big scores to have good outing with the bat.
India’s opponent, South Africa, on the other hand, would aim to replicate the same performance that they have delivered in all three departments of the game in this edition.
Captains’ Speak
Aiden Markram, the South African captain, decided to bat first after winning the toss as he wanted to put runs on the board and get the home team under pressure. Talking about the wicket, it is a black soil wicket which looks dry, but at the same time should be good for batting as it is a high-scoring venue.
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Suryakumar Yadv, the captain of India, was of the opinion that hewould have batted first as well. Having said that, there was a bit in the wicket when they bowled first in the previous game that India played here, and it is not a bad thing to take advantage of it.
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How do the Teams Look
India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
How will the Pitch Behave
The pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium for the Super 8 clash between India and South Africa is expected to be good for batting while having something in it for the bowlers.
Being a black soil surafce it might not have as much bounce as compared to a red soil one, meaning that the batters will have to adjust to the bounce before deciding to play their shots.
Also Read: 5 Oldest Players In T20 World Cup 2026: Full List With Career Stats
