Follow UsIndia will take on South Africa in the first T20I in Delhi on Thursday (June 9). It is the opening encounter of the 5-match T20Is series that sets the World Cup preparations back in motion for both sides. The fixture is India’s first T20I in three and a half months and for South Africa, the first since the previous edition of the World Cup last year.
Ground Details and Team Combination
The Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi has hosted only one T20I since 2019. However, including the domestic games and IPL, the tally rises up to 29 matches. The average first innings score here has been only 150 which indicates it is a tough venue for the batters.
Despite short boundaries, spinners have fared extremely well here, accounting for 42 percent of the 157 wickets to fall here since 2019. You don’t often see spinners operating with a better balls-per-wicket ratio at a venue. In Delhi, spinners have struck at 21.7 as compared to 22.7 by the pacers. Both sides have terrific wrist spinners, both of whom should be picked. Leg-spinner’s bowling strike-rate of 16.3 is best by a fair margin here in the considered time period.
Suggested Team
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain and vice-captain suggestions
For Small leagues: Quinton de Kock (Captain), Yuzvendra Chahal (Vice-captain)
For Grand leagues: Hardik Pandya (Captain), David Miller (Vice-captain)
Stats That Matter
- Quinton de Kock averages 56.8 in six T20Is in India. His tally of 284 runs is the highest for a South African batter in the subcontinent nation. Coming off a fruitful season in the recently concluded IPL season, de Kock is placed nicely to pile on his excellent T20I record in India.
- Yuzvendra Chahal knows the Indian pitches like the back of his hand. He is another player who is coming off a brilliant IPL season where he won the Purple cap. He has the second highest number of T20I wickets in India (37) and will be the trump card with the ball for the hosts.
- Reeza Hendricks has been in decent touch coming into the series. However, he will be on the radar of Bhuvneshwar Kumar who has dismissed him twice in three T20s while conceding only 27 runs
- The presence of Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant makes Aiden Markram a crucial cog in South Africa’s attack as the sixth bowling option. He might even take the new ball to target Ishan Kishan. Considering his excellent batting form of late (an average of 47.6 in IPL 2022), he becomes an essential all-round asset for your fantasy fortunes.
- Shreyas Iyer had a mediocre IPL season but he has been in stupendous touch in international cricket. With 229 runs, he is comfortably the highest run-scorer for India in T20Is this year. Although, picking him is a risky business given Iyer was found out against short deliveries in the IPL. South Africa have plenty of firepower to exploit that weakness.
Grand League Punts
- Turning up in prime form for Gujarat Titans, David Miller proved to be lethal against spinners, only losing two wickets to spinners. With India lacking an out-and-out off-spinner, Miller has a chance to translate IPL form into the international arena.
- In case India bowls first, Harshal Patel can be considered as a vice-captaincy option. He is most effective when the batters go after him which is a more likely case while he bowls in the first innings. In T20s since 2021, he has 42 wickets in 21 innings where he has bowled first as compared to 28 wickets in 22 innings while bowling second.
- If included in the XI, Dinesh Karthik can create a difference in your Fantasy fortunes. The 37-year old was in stellar form in the IPL. The presence of two prime wicket-keepers in de Kock and Rishabh Pant means very few will pick Karthik in their XI. It presents a great opportunity to make big bucks in various grand leagues.
Probable XIs
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuveshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma ( c ), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi