IND vs SA 2019 - South Africa tour of India T20I and Test Series Schedule
Coming on the back of a successful tour of the West Indies, India will be raring to kick-off the long home season with the T20I series against South Africa which is set to begin on 15th September, Sunday. After the three-match T20I series comes to an end, the two sides will lock horns in a three-match Test series which is also part of the ICC Test Championship.
The first T20I will be played at the picturesque HPCA stadium in Dharamshala and the first ball will be bowled at 7.00 PM IST.
Even though South Africa are the #3 ranked side in the world, India will head into the series as clear favourites. Also, the Quinton de Kock-led Proteas side will take on India with a very inexperienced team. The likes of skipper de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Kagiso Rabada and David Miller would all need to be at their best if South Africa want to beat India in India.
Amongst the lesser-known players, George Linde and Anrich Nortje could be ones to keep an eye out for. Both Linde and Nortje impressed during the recently concluded South Africa A tour of India.
Meanwhile, the hosts India are themselves going in with a squad that doesn't involve lynchpins like Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. In spite of their absence, India will be pretty confident of a series victory against the Proteas given how they eased past the West Indies a month and a half ago.
With the 2020 T20 World Cup just a year and a bit away, both India and South Africa would want to make the best use of these matches in order to shortlist the players who could potentially board the plane to Australia.
The Test series will be even more important considering that 120 points are on the table and India will look to extend their lead at the top of the table. On the other hand, the Test series will open South Africa's Test Championship campaign.
India will also indulge in an interesting experiment by playing Rohit Sharma as an opener for the first time in Test cricket. Rohit Sharma is the beneficiary of KL Rahul's poor form which eventually has seen him lose his spot in the squad. While Rohit was already part of the squad for the West Indies tour, Shubman Gill received his maiden Test call-up at the expense of Rahul.
India vs South Africa Schedule:
T20I Series fixtures:
1st T20I: 15 September, 19:00 IST, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
2nd T20I: 18 September, 19:00 IST, Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
3rd T20I: 22 September, 19:00 IST, M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Test Series fixtures:
1st Test: October 2-6, 09:30 IST, ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam
2nd Test: October 10-14, 09:30 IST, Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
3rd Test: October 19-23, 09:30 IST, JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi
On the whole, this whole tour promises to be an exciting one. Follow all these matches on Sportskeeda.
Follow Sportskeeda for all the updates on India South Africa head to head, India South Africa schedule, news, results, points table, most runs, most wickets and fantasy tips.