South Africa won the toss at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack and chose to bowl first against India in the opening T20I of the five-match series.
Suryakumar Yadav’s men now face the task of setting a strong total in front of a packed home crowd.
India entered the contest after a mixed run in the home series. The team suffered a 0-2 whitewash in the Test series but bounced back with a 2-1 victory in the ODIs under stand-in captain KL Rahul. With the T20I series beginning, skipper Suryakumar Yadav aims to continue the winning momentum.
Vice-captain Shubman Gill returned from injury, while star all-rounder Hardik Pandya also rejoined the squad after his recovery.
India has dominated the T20 format in recent years. Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, the team has won 26 matches and lost only four. India has not lost a T20I series in the last three years, with their last defeat coming against the West Indies in 2023. Ranked No. 1 in the world, India also lifted the Asia Cup 2025 unbeaten.
South Africa, led by Aiden Markram, entered the match seeking revenge after losing 3-1 at home to India in a T20I series last year. Their decision to bowl first reflected confidence in chasing under lights.
All eyes remained on Shubman Gill’s comeback and Jasprit Bumrah, who stood just one wicket away from becoming the first Indian bowler to claim 100 international wickets across all three formats.
India Playing XI
- Suryakumar Yadav (c) – Batter
- Abhishek Sharma – All-rounder
- Shubman Gill – Batter
- N Tilak Varma – Batter
- Hardik Pandya – All-rounder
- Shivam Dube – All-rounder
- Jitesh Sharma (wk) – Wicketkeeper
- Axar Patel – All-rounder
- Varun Chakaravarthy – Bowler
- Arshdeep Singh – Bowler
- Jasprit Bumrah – Bowler
Rest of the Squad: Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav.
South Africa Playing XI
- Aiden Markram (c) – Batter
- Quinton de Kock (wk) – Wicketkeeper
- Tristan Stubbs – Wicketkeeper
- Dewald Brevis – All-rounder
- David Miller – Batter
- Donovan Ferreira – Wicketkeeper
- Marco Jansen – All-rounder
- Keshav Maharaj – Bowler
- Anrich Nortje – Bowler
- Lutho Sipamla – Bowler
- Lungisani Ngidi – Bowler
Rest of the Squad: Reeza Hendricks, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Ottniel Baartman.
