India vs South Africa 1st T20I LIVE score: Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened the innings for India

The hosts will be captained still by Aiden Markram, but will be looking to replace Quinton de Kock who has ruled himself out of the series. While de Kock isn’t officially retired from the T20I format, CSA will be looking at alternatives for their talismanic left-handed opener.

Beyond the questions of how a Reeze Hendricks-Ryan Rickleton opening duo might look, South Africa’s middle order will remain their strength. Aiden Markram at number three will be followed by a terrifying 4-5-6 in the form of Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller. The trio threatened to win the World Cup final for South Africa, and in home conditions, are capable of setting fire to even the most high-quality bowling lineups. Proficient against both spin and pace, India’s largest concern will be how to dismiss the trio before they can cause too much damage in the death overs.

South Africa also are expected to hand a debut for Durban native Andile Simelane, an all-rounder who could extend the batting order, which was the concern for the Proteas and their ultimate Achilles heel in Barbados. On the bowling front, they will be without Kagiso Rabada, who they have rested for upcoming Tests, as well as Anrich Nortje. A combination of Gerald Coetzee, Ottneil Baartman, and Marco Jansen will likely be the frontline pacers, while Keshav Maharaj will be their spinner at Kingsmead.

Meanwhile, the visiting India team will be captained by Suryakumar Yadav, and will have a range of their own changes throughout the lineup. A powerful and destructive opening partnership of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will be tasked with getting the powerplay off to a powerful start, comfortable with the pace and bounce that will be on offer throughout the series.

Tilak Varma is expected to get a start, likely at number three, after a few months away from the team while other players got their chance. Tilak will want to use this opportunity to stake his claim as one for India’s white-ball future. Meanwhile captain Suryakumar will keep his preferred number four position in the middle order. Hardik Pandya seems to have hammered home the number five with his ability to contribute on two fronts, and allows for Rinku Singh to bat at number six as an out-and-out finisher for this Indian team. There is plenty of power on offer in this Indian lineup, but in a transitional phase, they will want to start seeing consistency from the likes of Abhishek and Samson.

In the bowling department, Axar Patel will likely be the spinning all-rounder at number seven, offering batting depth and control, but will be wary of being taken apart as he was in Barbados by Klaasen. India will likely have an all-rounder of their own debuting — will it be the batting-first Ramandeep Singh, who also provides a dynamic presence in the field, or the more typical number eight in Vijaykumar Vyshak? Vyshak’s offers slightly more with ball which might see him get the nod initially, but expect both players as well as Yash Dayal to get their debuts on this tour.

Finally, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan are two players who are expected to start for India, and their death bowling will be under scrutiny against South Africa’s powerful batting.

Whatever the combinations, power-hitting and plenty of highlights will be on offer as these two teams pit their titans against each other in the first match of what promises to be a hotly-contested series in South Africa.

Highlights from India vs South Africa 1st T20I:

– Aiden Markram won the toss and South Africa are bowling first

– India and South Africa meet for the first time since the T20 World Cup final

– South Africa have lost 0-3 to West Indies and drawn 1-1 to Ireland

– India have gone on a 10-match winning streak in T20Is after a shock loss to Zimbabwe right after the T20 World Cup final