🏏South Africa vs India, 4th T20I: Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg 🏏

🏏South Africa vs India, 4th T20I: Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg 🏏

India looks to end a memorable year with a series win in South Africa by winning this match today.

Three down, and the final examination awaits!!

Johannesburg is expected to be batting-friendly today!!

India will look to cap off what has been a brilliant year for them in T20Is with a series win in South Africa. Suryakumar Yadav's men will take on South Africa in the T20I series finale in Johannesburg today, November 16, having already pocketed an unbeatable series 2-1 series lead.

India won the T20 World Cup and lost only two out of 25 T20Is in the year in which they redefined their style of playing the format.

Contrary to expectations, India appointed Suryakumar Yadav as their captain post the World Cup in place of Hardik Pandya, who was in line to replace Rohit Sharma. The move seems to have worked well for India, with Suryakumar continuing the mantra that worked well for India in 2024.

Suryakumar said his captaincy is inspired by Rohit's leadership, with a bit of his masala added to it.

Like Rohit, Suryakumar has taken bold calls and paid the dividends for it. Even in the ongoing series, the team management backed Abhishek Sharma despite his lean patch and he repaid the faith shown in him with a fifty in the 3rd T20I in Centurion on Wednesday. Varun Chakravarthy and Sanju Samson have also been able to prove the team management's call right with some stellar performances in the recent past.

India will be a confident bunch after having bounced back from a loss in the second T20I to win the third in Centurion by 11 runs. India's batting failed to click in Gqberha, but Tilak Varma's maiden T20I hundred and Arshdeep Singh's bowling heroics saw them survive a Marco Jansen scare in the third T20I.

TEAM NEWS, SA vs IND 4th T20I

Will India give a game to uncapped Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak? While Ramandeep Singh got his maiden cap in Centurion, the two pacers have warmed the benches throughout. India have a dilemma to address as they wouldn't want to tamper with their winning combination in the series decider.

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma are expected to get another go at the top together before the other big names, including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, return to the frame next year.

India will look to back their spin trio of Varun, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi. However, if conditions allow an extra pacer, we might see a debutant on Friday.

South Africa, on the other hand, will not look to chop and change too much. However, fast bowler Ottneil Baartman might get a go in the series finale.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS IN JOHANNESBURG

200-plus totals have been scored in each of the two T20is held at the venue in the last two years. Suryakumar Yadav hit a hundred in 2023 here and Kuldeep Yadav took a five-wicket haul to run through the South African batting unit.

The pitch at the venue is expected to be one that offers plenty of runs.

With a bit of rain expected before the start of the match, both teams might look to add some pace to their battery.

STATS TO LOOK FORWARD TO

India won three of the five bilateral series played in South Africa. Friday presents them with an opportunity to extend their dominance in T20Is n the Rainbow Nation.

Varun Chakrvarthy needs three more wickets to break the all-time record for most wickets in a bilateral T20I series. He has 10 in three matches.

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakrvarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal.

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Ottneil Baartman.

After a clinical performance in Centurion to go 2-1 up in the four-match T20 International series, India is all set to take on the hosts, South Africa, in the fourth T20 International at Johannesburg today, November 15.

Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav will look to secure his third straight T20 International series win after assuming the role of Indian captain in the shortest format of the game on a full-time basis. Except for the second T20, India have outclassed South Africa in all three departments and will hope to continue their form on Friday to seal the series 3-1 in their favour.

The hosts, South Africa, will go all out to secure a win in the final game and end the series in a 2-2 draw. The last thing they will want is to lose a T20 International series right after losing the ICC T20 World Cup final against India earlier this year.

However, despite the ups and downs faced during the series, both teams may decide to go with a similar playing 11 for the final match at Johannesburg.

South Africa vs India head-to-head in T20Is

• Total matches played: 30
• India won: 17
• South Africa won: 12
• Tie: 1

India's spinners did not let South Africa off the hook after Tilak Varma's maiden century helped them set a target of 220 in Centurion. However, Heinrich Klaasen started South Africa's late surge by smashing 23 runs off Varun Chakravarthy in the 14th over.

Marco Jansen then took it to another level as he creamed 54 runs in just 17 balls. His onslaught brought South Africa to within 11 runs of the target. India have taken a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

Tilak smashed his maiden century to power India to a score of 219/6 in 20 overs. Having walked in to bat in the first over after Sanju Samson fell for a duck, Tilak stayed unbeaten on 107 off 56 balls. He put up a mammoth second wicket partnership with opener Abhishek Sharma, which incidentally was also worth 107 runs in 52 balls. Abhishek returned to form with a half-century, scoring 50 off 25 balls before falling in the 10th over to Keshav Maharaj. The spinner then led the way as South Africa fought back, taking four quick wickets to dent India's progress before the death overs. Tilak stood strong, though, and scored his third T20I half-century.

Tilak then sent the South Africans to the cleaners in the death overs. He brought up his century with a four off the fifth ball of the 19th over. He was ably helped by debutant Ramandeep Singh in the last few overs, with the all-rounder hitting a six off the very first ball that he faced in international cricket. Ramandeep was run out off the second last ball of the innings having scored 15 off six balls.

Aiden Markram earlier won the toss and chose to bowl first in Centurion. All-rounder Ramandeep Singh was given his debut cap, with India dropping pacer Avesh Khan for the third T20I. India were stopped from equalling their record winning streak in T20Is by South Africa in the low-scoring thriller that was the second T20I in Gqeberha.

India secured a thrilling 11-run victory to take a 2-1 lead in the series. India posted a challenging total of 219/6, with Tilak Varma starring with an impactful 107 from 56 balls. His performance anchored India's innings after a slightly wobbly start, especially following the dismissal of Sanju Samson, the centurion from the first match, and then he perished for consecutive ducks in the next two. Suryakumar Yadav's leadership and strategic moves, including backing Varma to bat at No. 3, helped India set up a substantial target. In response, South Africa fought valiantly but fell short, finishing at 208/7, despite late bursts from Marco Jansen, who hit 26 runs off the penultimate over and eventually ended up with 54 off 17 and Heinrich Klaasen's cameo of 41 of 22 and along with David Miller's 18 of 18 towards the death overs were looking ominous to take South Africa home safely. India's disciplined bowling, led by Arshdeep Singh, who took crucial wickets at key moments, ultimately sealed the win. South Africa’s 19 extras, compared to India’s mere six, proved costly. Every run in such a high-pressure game where the balance can swing either side, these mere runs matters hugely towards the end result of the game.

India will look to seal the series in the fourth T20I against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The host will hope to end the four-match series in a draw.

After magnificent hundreds from star batters Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma and return to form for opening batter Abhishek Sharma will no doubt be a welcome relief for the tourist and has kept Team India's nose ahead in the series as the Men in Blue would want a more collaborative batting to grab series 3-1. However, the poor form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh will raise concerns with the team, hoping that both of these big hitters return to their form in the final match of the series.

Suryakumar Yadav and Co. thwart South Africa by 11 runs in the third T20I on November 13 at SuperSports Park in Centurion to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the ongoing series. The momentum now heads to the fourth and final game, with Aiden Markran and his men needing a victory at all costs to avoid a series of defeats against strong visitors. However, for the Men in Blue, the side has been flying high with a bunch of youngsters having stepped up in the series, and the 2024 T20 World Cup champions will be confident of pulling off a series win in the next game.