India vs South Africa Highlights, 1st T20I: IND beat SA by 61 runs in Durban to take 1-0 lead

Keshav Maharaj hits one straight to mid-off fielder Suryakumar Yadav and tries to snatch a single. However, the ball went too quickly for his liking to the fielder and Surya takes an aim it striker end and hits it perfectly and Coetzee running towards danger end gets out.

Well, the game is almost done but Coetzee seems like he wants to have a word with the bat as well. He has hit a couple of thumping sixes of Hardik who pitched the ball short. The second one was even longer than the first one. 

Ravi Bisnoi picks up his third wicket. It is Marco Jansen who just seemed like he was starting to get hold of a few he tried to whack one on the leg-side and got the edge when the ball went up in the air for Hardik Pandya at point inside the ring to take a simple catch.

South Africa needs to come up with a plan to deal with the Indian spinners in the remainder of the series. Today they looked completely out of sorts against Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi. Surya did not even need services of Axar for today.

Double wicket over for Bishnoi. First it was Kruger and then it was debutant Simelane who did not pick the googly and was trapped in front. India has broken the back of this chase now and it seems like India will take 1-0 lead in this series.

Well something had to give and South Africa has lost both Klassen and Miller in the same over. First it was the former who picked the short one but hit it straight to long-on and then the former too trying to pull the short one was caught at square leg. As we update Bishnoi picks Kruger.

This is excellent from Bishnoi from the other end as well. Miller failed to pick Bishnoi's googlies and kept getting beaten through the over. Something has to give here for South Africa either they need a big over here in the next 10 minutes or so.

So far Chakravarthy has been brilliant. His length has been immaculate and both Miller and Klassen are struggling to pick his variations. And one advantage for him is the wicket is skidding through which does not give much of time to pick him especially those he pick from lengths. 

Ravi Bishnoi has come into the attack here. And he must be wary of bowling too many googlies to Klassen who is always shaping up to clobber the ball on the leg-side and one he did pull for a boundary. That is the battle Bishnoi has in his hands for today. 

India has opted to go with three spinners in this game. Given how good Klassen is against spin it will be a test of captaincy for Surya on how he uses his spinners. As of now Varun bowled an over and picked up a wicket. As we update Bishnoi comes into attack.

Hardik Pandya comes to bowl second over and he delivers another tidy one. The Run rate is slowly but steadly spiking up for South Africa. Yes, these two are brutal hitters of the cricket ball but South Africa does need a big over sooner rather than later. 

Rickelton tried to hit Varun through the mid-wicket region however the length was not there to play the slog-sweep instead he could have gone down the ground neverhtless he was caught at long-off by Tilak Varma who took a lovely catch. David Miller walks into the middle.

Excellent over from Hardik Pandya. He hit hard lengths and kept Henrich Klassen honest. Surya also had slip for the fast bowler. This has been a good start for India. There might be an odd boundary here and there but for the most part they have kept South Africa under check.

Stubbs gives himself room and tries to hit the ball over mid-off however gets the bottom edge straight to Suryakumar Yadav. South Africa have now lost two wickets in quick succession. Henrich Klassen has come into the middle for the hosts. 

It will be intresting how the pitch plays once the ball gets older. In the first innings it was getting increasingly difficult to score runs once the ball got older. However, in the second innings here under the lights things might be slightly difficult the ball might skid on better.

Avesh Khan took the new ball from the other end. There is an odd ball which is swinging but for the most part things seem to be pretty good for batting. India needs to bowl very well here if they don't want to let South Africa chase these runs. 

We are done with the opening over and Arshdeep Singh has picked up Aiden Markam. After bowling a couple of wide half-volleys Arshdeep Singh pitched one on the off-stump which swing away and Markram was beaten all ends up. Good start for India.

I was in a zone, it was automatically flowing, so I let it flow. [what is intent for you?] It's a good question actually, if the ball is there to be hit, go for it. Focus on one ball at a time and that helps. The wicket does play a big role here, extra bounce and coming from India we do take time to understand the wicket. There's a huge wind blowing from one end and their bowlers bowled very well, our bowlers too would like to copy from them. [on his current form] If I think a lot I will get emotional. I waited for this moment for 10 years, I'm very happy, grateful and blessed. But I would like to keep my feet on the ground, be in the moment and enjoy. Looks a really good score, if we bowl to our 80% potential we should be fine.

India has posted 202 runs in the end. Well, it looked like they would get a lot more but South Africa bowled very well in the later stage of the innings. Credit must be given to Samson who played an exceptional knock and despite wicket getting slower he kept accelerating. We will be right back with second innings.

Rinku Singh trying to score of the ball on the leg-side for a boundary gloved it to the keeper Klassen. Three wickets for Coetzee in the evening. A very good spell from him which helped South Africa not letting India to get that 220-230 mark.

It has been the excellent passage of play for South Africa. At a point when Tilak and Samson were batting 220-230 was on the cards. However, the cluster of wickets ensured that India won't get there. Excellent planning and execution of death bowling from South Africa.

Well as it always happens the new batter trying to force the issue gets out. It was a short ball from Coetzee which Pandya tries to hit for a six over point fielder however, gets caught on the boundary. It seems to be planned against Pandya. India lose five now.

Well, there is the wicket South Africa were looking for. It was Samson who after playing a lovely shot down the ground was caught at mid-wicket as the ball did not have the power to go over the boundary because of the wind blowing against. Neverthless exceptional innings from the batter.

Maharaj picks up Tilak Varma. The batter tried to slog sweep and got the top edge and was against the wind. The square-leg fielder took a lovely catch of the swirling ball. A good day in the office for Maharaj who ended up with 1-34 in his spell today. 

It has been an exceptional innings from Samson. He could not middle many early on his innings but he hung and timing started to come. In addition to his shot making what has been evident is his ability to adapt and score quickly on two different surfaces in Hyderabad and Durban.

Big overs have been coming here for India. Simelane conceded 18 runs in his previous over. Sanju Samson has been severe against him and the Indian opener is closing in on his second consecutive ton in T20I cricket.

South African leg-spinner Peter who is making his debut has been finding it difficult. His two overs went for 26 runs thus far. He has been looking to bowl quicker and flatter, however, the dimensions of the boundaries have been such that even mistimes are flying for boundaries.

This has been great batting from Samson. He is not middling everything but he is making sure he hits the gaps on the fields so that if not a six he can get a boundary at least. Tilak on the other hand has just walked into the middle and he too is looking in good touch.

Scoring seems to have become difficult as the ball has gotten a little old here. The South African seamers are looking to take the pace out of the ball and a few are sticking. It will be important that Sanju Samson stays till the end.

Well, we had a strategic time out and then Kruger bowled the next over in which he delivered 11 balls. There were no-balls followed up with one wide after the other. However, he had the last laugh when Suryakumar got beaten by his knuckleball and was holed out at square-leg.

After getting a ton in last T20I at Hyderabad Samson has backed up with a nice 50 here. He did not look his fluent best but got there in the end. With still plenty of time left in the innings Samson might also eye up for another century here in Durban. 

It will be interesting how India will approach the middle overs here. With two right-handers in the middle, it is not much of challenge for Markram tactically as he has a leg-spinner and left-arm spinner in the side which favours the match-up for South Africa. 

It has been a good over from Coetzee he seems to have found the right length on the surface which is back off length and mixed the pace up nicely as due to a bit of moisture from the rain around a few balls seem to be sticking in the surface early on. 

Runs have started to flow here. Surya is playing some silky shots to get the innings underway here which is something Abhishek can learn from. It has been either look for a boundary or gets out approach from the youngster there has been no in between.

Well, Abhishek fell however, Suryakumar Yadav came in and played a couple of shots behind the wicket as he usually does to extract 10 runs from that wicket over. As per Abhishek it seemed like he was not in terms with the bounce of the pitch which caused his downfall.

Well, Markram has decided to go with spin from the other end too and it was Maharaj from the other end. Sanju Samson squeezed a couple of easy boundaries of the left-arm spinner. It has been a strange tactic from Markram to use spinners despite the moisture in the wicket. As we update Coetzee picks up Abhishek Sharma

Surprisingly Aiden Markram has taken the second over of the innings. It might be due to the wind. Sanju Samson who is a right-hander with the ball coming into him has to hit it against it and for Abhishek Sharma it is vice-versa. 

We are done with the opening over and more than the bounce what has been surprising is the moment through the air because of the wind going across the ground. Batters need to be wary of their shot selection if they are hitting with the wind or against.

The national anthems are done. There is cloud cover here and the lights have been turned on. The first few overs might be a little tricky for the Indian openers however, if they do get past that it is one of the fastest-scoring grounds in world cricket.

"It is an overcast evening in Durban. There is a strong breeze going across the ground and the teams should be vary of that. The wicket is very hard and the ball is going to carry through nicely. I would prefer to bowl first and see if there's any help for the pacers. And there's a slight chance of rain later on,"

Ryan Rickelton(w), Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Patrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan

We were looking to bat first. The wicket looks nice, better than the practice wicket and we will try to put runs on the board. The guys in the dressing room have made my job easier, the fearless approach they play with for their respective franchises and have brought the same approach to the team.

We are going to bowl first. Looks a pretty good wicket. There has been some rain around this week and if there's moisture we want to make use of it. Fantastic opportunity for guys to make their debuts at home and it is a great time for them to enjoy the game. We are quite a competitive team and the discussions have been how can we get positive results.

India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal, Ravi Bishnoi, Ramandeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma

South Africa Squad: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton(w), Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Nqabayomzi Peter, Ottneil Baartman, Donovan Ferreira, Mihlali Mpongwana, Patrick Kruger

“I also try to spend time with others go with them to meals, roam around or travel with them. These are small things which earn the respect of your team-mates. If you want him to deliver on the ground all these things are very important,” 

“When I am on the ground I notice his body language and how calm he is during the pressure situations. How does he treat everyone on the field and off the field and most importantly with the leader there is an expectation of how much time he is spending with you to have that comfort.”

“Off the field, I try and spend a lot of time with them to understand their strengths and who can deliver in pressure and crunch situations. This format is if you keep playing you keep learning and it is so fast on the field by the time you blink your eye the game is over,”

“My batting style is completely different, I can’t be that aggressive on the field as a leader. At the same time, you have to understand what is happening in their (players) minds. You also need to make sure that they are comfortable. Everyone has a different skill set. They also want to express themselves that freedom is very important when they get onto the field. I try and listen to what is going on in their mind,”

“The approach will be the same as what we have been doing in the last few years; the brand of cricket we played during the T20 World Cup, also in the last two or three bilateral series and what we played during the IPL.” 

“I don’t think it’s the focus. But we all know, with things like an auction and especially for a big tournament like the IPL, a lot of things can fall into place for players. And we’re fortunate that we’re playing a series against them pretty much just before the auction happens.” 

The current Indian T20I team and the one in 2007, have similar aggressive approach and fearless batting style. The recent match against Bangladesh, where India scored the highest T20I total, further solidified this comparison. While Abhishek Sharma missed out on that match, the team's overall performance showcased their potential for future success in T20 cricket, especially leading up to the 2026 World Cup.

The recent changes in India's top order, particularly after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have led to a more aggressive approach. While the team has maintained a consistent run rate and scored a significant number of fifties and a century, there's a noticeable lack of truly explosive innings. Only two of the 11 fifty-plus scores were scored at a strike rate over 180, indicating a need for more aggressive and risk-taking batting.

India has been incredibly aggressive in their T20 matches since the World Cup final, scoring at a high run rate and hitting a significant number of boundaries. They've achieved multiple fifty-plus scores, with a significant portion of them coming at a strike rate of over 200. This shows a clear shift towards a more attacking approach.

South Africa, led by Aiden Markram, is expected to field a similar team to the one that played in the T20 World Cup final against India. This series will be a significant test for India's new-look batting lineup, as they face a strong South African bowling attack on fast, bouncy pitches.

The upcoming T20I series against South Africa is a crucial test for India's new-look batting lineup, particularly for Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. The team's recent focus has been on quick, impactful innings without sacrificing stability. While the team has achieved a decent run rate and scored fifties and a century, there's room for improvement in terms of strike rates, especially for those seeking to cement their positions in the T20 side.

Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will open the batting for India in the upcoming match against South Africa. Both players have shown explosive batting abilities in the past, with Abhishek scoring a century in his second T20I innings and Samson recently hitting a quickfire hundred against Bangladesh. Despite recent setbacks, the team management and captain have expressed confidence in their abilities, and they are expected to play a crucial role in India's success.

The upcoming match between India and South Africa marks their first encounter since the T20 World Cup final. India has undergone significant changes with the retirements of key players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. In contrast, South Africa retains a powerful batting lineup featuring Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, and Tristan Stubbs.

The Durban pitch is generally slower than other South African venues but still allows for high-scoring matches. It's known to favor batsmen, especially those who can adapt to its slightly slower nature.