South Africa vs India: First T20 tips and suggested bets

India have arrived in South Africa with all 11 players who played against Australia on 3 December intending to keep on rolling through a three-match series against the Proteas that starts on Sunday, 10 December.

Both teams have shunned the notion that any of their squads are under-strength given the growing need to maintain a larger pool of international players.

The series starts at Kingsmead, where South Africa haven't won in their last four T20 International outings.

The revamping of the drainage system of the ground has made the Kingsmead pitch play lower and slower, and it is quite telling that this match is the first bilateral T20I between India and South Africa in Durban.

 

South Africa vs India: First ODI suggested bets

Given the relative inexperience in South Africa's expected top order, Heinrich Klaasen might just get enough balls to put together one of his brutally brilliant knocks if the Kingsmead pitch isn't too devilish.

Top order stalwarts Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram are quite likely to bat at a slower tempo than the likes of Klaasen and David Miller, but their job of laying the right sort of platform will be key.

India have put together a young team that has also got onto a bit of a roll thanks to their home T20I series against Australia.

Ruturaj Gaikwad's superb hundred against Australia might have been forgotten by most, but there is no doubt that he is in good form and poses a serious threat to wayward attacks, no matter how good they might be on paper.

South Africa's bowling attack will go through an evolution of sorts through the series, with multi-format regulars Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen only available for the first two matches of the white-ball portion of the tour.

Jansen, incidentally, is a good punt to be the South African quick most likely to snatch wickets in Durban but look no further than hometown hero Keshav Maharaj to be on top when it comes to economy.

Similarly, India could wield several lethal weapons in their spin department, but it is Ravindra Jadeja who stands out as the man for this kind of occasion.

Jadeja's kind of bowling is often very successful at Kingsmead, and if he plays, he is bound to be influential one way or another.