Sign In
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
India vs South Africa LIVE Cricket Score 1st T20I: After thrilling battles in the Test and ODI series, India and South Africa are all set to lock horns in the tour-concluding T20I leg, starting in Cuttack today (December 09). The five-match series marks the start of preparations for both teams for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
India will play 10 matches (5 each against South Africa and New Zealand) in the run-up to the mega-event set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in the February-March cycle.
All eyes will be on comeback men Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya. Both players are returning after spending time on the sidelines due to respective injuries. While Gill returns to action after recovering from the neck spasm he suffered last month in the first Test against South Africa, Pandya returns after a two-month lay-off due to a left quadraceps injury.
India have played three T20Is at Cuttack, two of them have come against South Africa. The Proteas have a 100 per cent record against the Men In Blue with two wins in as many games.
Squads:
South Africa squad: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Reeza Hendricks, Ottneil Baartman, Donovan Ferreira, Kwena Maphaka, George Linde
India squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana
India lose the wicket at the wrong time. Just when the momentum was building up, India lose Shivam Dube. Superb bowling by Donavan Ferreira. He fires it in from round the wicket. Dube goes for a big one but misses completely as the ball crashes into the stumps.
He is gone for 11 off 9 deliveries. Pandya holds the key for India.
India 145/6 (18 overs)
Axar goes after hitting Sipamla for a glorious straight six. The young pacer gets his revenge on the very next ball. Short, bouncy, outside off and there for the taking, but Axar fails to get on top of the bounce and hits it straight to point. Another wicket falls at a crucial juncture.
Shivam Dube is the new batter. India 104/5 (14 overs)
India fighting fire with fire. Dube and Pandya are giving it back to the Proteas with some lusty blows. First, Pandya takes 17 runs off Nortje's over, then Dube joins the party and smashes Ngidi for two boundaries in the next over. India go into the final five overs with some momentum.
He hits two maximums off Maharaj over long-on to signal his intentions. Just the kind of impetus India needed. But he needs to carry on. Still 7 overs left to play.
16 runs off the 13th over. India 96 for 4 (13 overs)
Just when the partnership was building, India lose another wicket. Tilak Varma perishes while trying to hit a maximum over fine leg. Good catch by Jansen at the boundary line. Ngidi gets his second wicket.
Huge roar as Hardik Pandya walks out to bat.
Tilak Varma and Axar Patel have steadied the ship with a partnership of 29 off 28 balls. India need big last nine overs to post a decent total.
WHAT A CATCH BY JANSEN! Abhishek Sharma is dismissed after scoring back-to-back boundaries. He tries to go for the third boundary and almost succeeds, but Jansen pulls off a blinder at fine leg. Lutho Sipamla gets the prized wicket.
Axar Patel is the new batter.
Tilak Varma is up and running. The first one is flicked through midwicket, and the second is glanced through fine leg. Expensive over by Jansen. End of power play.
India 40/2 (6 overs)
Abhishek Sharma finally gets one in the middle. Short ball from Jansen. Abhishek is quick to pounce on it. He reads the length quickly and dispatches it deep into the stands over mid-wicket.
India 26/2 (4 overs) Lutho Sipamla replaces Lungi Ngidi.
India lose another, and it's a big one. Surya's lean patch as skipper continues. He gets greedy and goes after Ngidi after hitting him for a four and a six, but he mistimes the ball completely. Simple catch for Markram at mid-on. Dream start for Ngidi. Two big wickets for the SA pacer in the first two overs.
Tilak Varma is the new batter.
Gill is gone in the first over. Not the start India would have wanted. Gill, returning from injury, tries to be aggressive and comes down the track to play a lofted drive over mid-off. But the ball stops after pitching, and all Gill can do is chip it straight to Jansen.
India 6/1 (1 over) Skipper Suryakumar Yadav is the new batter.
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje
India lose yet another coin toss. South Africa have opted to bowl first at the Barabati Stadium. Sanju Samson is not in the playing XI, so are Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje, who last played a T20I match in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against India, returns for the Proteas.
Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill are at the crease. South Africans have taken the fielding positions. Sharma to take the strike, Ngidi to open the attack,
India have been on a remarkable run in T20Is since the 2024 T20I World Cup win. The Men in Blue have won 26 games since the 2024 T20I WC triumph while losing only four. They are yet to lose a series in the T20 format in the last three years, with their previous series loss coming in 2023 against the West Indies
Hello and welcome!
The stage is set for a blockbuster series between India and South Africa to entertain the crowd with some swashbuckling cricket in the first of the five T20Is. The series opener is being played at the Barabati Stadium, which has hosted only three T20Is.
Of the three, two have been between these two arch-rivals and South Africa, remarkably, have a 100 per cent record against the Men in Blue at this venue.
Can India stop South Africa from registering a hat-trick of wins?
Stay tuned to find out!
