Overview
- Suryakumar Yadav captains India and Aiden Markram leads South Africa, with full T20I squads named by both boards.
- Pre-match reports point to a red-soil surface at Barabati likely to assist pacers, with a cool, dew-prone night forecast and no rain expected.
- Live coverage is confirmed on Star Sports and the JioHotstar app in India, with Willow TV in North America, TNT Sports/Discovery+ in the UK, and Channel Seven/Foxtel in Australia.
- Shubman Gill is expected to return from a neck injury, according to pre-game reporting, after missing the Tests and ODIs.
- The remaining T20Is are scheduled for December 11, 14, 17 and 19 at New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Ahmedabad.