Overview
- Game 1 starts December 9 at 7 p.m. IST at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, launching a five-match T20I leg to close South Africa’s tour.
- Jasprit Bumrah enters on 99 T20I wickets, with one more set to make him the first Indian to reach 100 in Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
- Indian viewers can watch on Star Sports with streaming on JioHotstar, while U.S. audiences have Willow TV with streaming via Fubo.
- Barabati’s relaid red-soil surface is expected to offer bounce, carry and plenty of runs, with South Africa holding a 2–0 T20I record at the venue.
- Suryakumar Yadav leads a squad featuring fit-again Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya as India weigh keeper choice (Sanju Samson vs Jitesh Sharma), settle the No. 4–7 core and identify Bumrah’s death-overs partner.