India vs South Africa, 1st T20I: Dissecting key player battles
What's the story
The highly anticipated T20I series between India and South Africa will get underway on Tuesday (December 9) in Cuttack. This is the last leg of South Africa's all-format tour of India, concluding with a five-match series. The series holds great significance for both teams, considering the upcoming T20 World Cup. On this note, we look at the key player battles that can be on display in the series opener.
#1
Abhishek Sharma vs Marco Jansen
Abhishek Sharma comes into this series after putting up a series of impressive performances in T20I cricket. As Marco Jansen operates with the new ball, his face-off with Abhishek looks inevitable. Abhishek has dominated Jansen in the past, hammering 49 runs against him at a strike rate of a staggering 222.72. The left-arm pacer is yet to trap the Indian opener in the T20 format.
#2
Suryakumar Yadav vs Keshav Maharaj
India captain Suryakumar Yadav has not been in great touch lately, having managed just 184 T20I runs in 2025 at 15.33. As the track in Cuttack is slightly on the slower side, Keshav Maharaj can trouble the Indian ace in the middle overs. So far, SKY has scored 71 runs off 47 balls against the left-arm spinner in T20Is without being dismissed.
#3
Jasprit Bumrah vs Quinton de Kock
Jasprit Bumrah is back in the Indian team, and his thunderbolts can give several SA batters a hard time. Opener Quinton de Kock, who made a ton in his preceding outing, will face the pacer with the new ball. According to ESPNcricinfo, Bumrah has dismissed de Kock once across five T20 meetings. The former has a powerplay economy of 7.67 this year (T20s). De Kock's strike rate in this regard reads 120.28.