Here we go! The BIG South Africa tour of India begins and it should start with a bang, as the two sides clash in the first T20 tomorrow at Dharmasala, easily one of the most beautiful places in India. The Dharmasala is the abode of the Dalai Lama, so both sides will be expected to behave themselves.
But sparks will fly, of course. That’s only natural when two of the biggest sides in world cricket meet. MS Dhoni vs. Dale Steyn, Virat Kohli vs. Morne Morkel and R Ashwin vs. AB De Villiers. It’s a clash of the titans. Indian cricket fans are all set for a most exciting two months and it has been a long time coming – 4 Tests, 5 ODIs and 3 T20s, played over 2 months.
India was actually scheduled to tour South Africa for an extensive 2-month period, but a bitter dispute between the two boards cut that tour short. But the wait has been sweet for cricket fans from both India and South Africa, as the biggest cricketers in the world battle it out for the next two months, relentlessly, with no quarters asked, none given.
Indian captain MS Dhoni spoke about the tour and was asked about how he felt about the first match being a T20: “I always found it most difficult switching from Tests to T20s, I always thought T20 to Test was relatively easy. When you switch from Test format to T20, the game demands you have to hit… so you want to have some kind of flow in your batting, you have to have that big swing, you don’t want to lose shape when hitting the ball.”
Almost all South African players play in the IPL, so they are practically playing at home. South African players are very familiar with Indian conditions and their top stars such as AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn and Faf Du Plessis have a huge following in India, almost as much as any of the Indian players. There is no question that the South Africans love India and playing here.
South Africa’s T20 captain, Faf Du Plessis spoke of his love for India and appreciation for Indian culture and Indian people: “I have learnt the most from India – just from general respect and treating people the way you do. Indian people, as a culture, are the friendliest people around.”
So, what can you expect in the first match? Nobody really knows. It’s the first match of the series and both sides will be feeling each other out. Anybody can win it and it would be foolhardy to speculate on the result. What we can tell you that prepare for fireworks right from the start of South Africa’s innings as AB De Villiers – the world’s most explosive batsman, will be opening the batting for them.
The Teams
India: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Shikhar Dhawan 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Stuart Binny, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Axar Patel/Harbhajan Singh, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Mohit Sharma/S Aravind
South Africa: 1 AB de Villiers, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 JP Duminy, 5 David Miller, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Marchant de Lange, 11 Imran Tahir
Match Conditions
October is the best time to play cricket in India as the temperatures are mild and there is no chance of rain. We expect an exciting match at Dharmasala, with the Himalayas providing the backdrop. The pitch here has always had a bit of seam and swing, which should assist the faster bowlers. Dale Steyn is unfortunately rested for T20s, otherwise he would relish bowling here.
Watch India take on South Africa in the first T20, live on Star Sports at 7:00 PM on Friday!
Bet on India v South Africa at the below:
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