India vs South Africa 2023-24 T20Is: A statistical preview
Team India will take on South Africa in a three-match T20I series, which will begin with the first game at Kingsmead in Durban on Sunday, December 10. The other two matches of the series will be played at St George's Park in Gqeberha and the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on December 12 and December 14, respectively.
The three-match series will be important for the Men in Blue keeping the 2024 World Cup in mind, which will be played in the United States and the West Indies from June 4 to June 30.
Team India will play only three other T20Is after the South Africa series before they head to the World Cup. The T20Is will be played as part of a home series against Afghanistan in January. The players will of course feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ahead of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, with India and South Africa set to resume their T20I rivalry, we look at some key stats about India vs South Africa T20Is.
India vs South Africa Head-to-head record in T20Is
India and South Africa have met 24 times in T20Is, with the Men in Blue winning 13 games and the Proteas 10. One match between the two sides produced no result.
In India, the Men in Blue have won five matches and the Proteas six. In South Africa, the hosts have lost five and won only two. At neutral venues, India have won three T20Is and have lost two.
Highest team total
India’s 237/3 in Guwahati on October 02, 2022, is the highest team total in India vs South Africa T20Is. The hosts batted first in the game and posted an impressive total as KL Rahul (57 off 28), Rohit Sharma (43 off 37), Virat Kohli (49* off 28) and Suryakumar Yadav (61* off 22) all made significant contributions. South Africa replied with 221/3, going down by 16 runs.
For South Africa, their highest T20I total against India is 227/3 scored in Indore on October 04, 2022. Rilee Rossouw clobbered 100* off 48 as the Proteas won the game by 49 runs.
Lowest team total
South Africa’s 87 all-out in Rajkot on June 17, 2022, is the lowest team total in India-South Africa T20Is. Chasing 170, the visitors folded up in 16.5 overs as pacer Avesh Khan starred with 4/18, while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal claimed figures of 2/21.
Team India’s lowest total against South Africa in T20Is is 92, which came in Cuttack on October 5, 2015. Bowling first, the Proteas came up with a clinical effort to bundle out India cheaply and then chased down the target with ease.
Highest match aggregate
India and South Africa combined to amass 458 runs for the loss of six wickets in Guwahati on October 2, 2022. This is the most runs scored in an India-South Africa T20I, followed by 423 in Delhi in June 2022 and 405 in Indore in October 2022.
Largest margin of victory (by runs and wickets)
India’s 82-run triumph in Rajkot on June 17, 2022, is the largest margin of victory by runs in India vs South Africa T20Is. The hosts put up 169/6 batting first and then bowled out South Africa for 87.
South Africa’s nine-wicket hammering of India in Bengaluru on September 22, 2019, is the largest margin of victory by wickets in India-South Africa T20Is. India scored 134/9 batting first and the Proteas romped home in 16.5 overs.
Most runs
Rohit Sharma has scored the most number of runs in India vs South Africa T20Is. In 16 innings, he has 420 runs to his name at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 129.23 with one hundred and two fifties.
David Miller is second on the list. In 15 innings, he has smashed 379 runs at an average of 47.37 and a strike rate of 161.96, hitting one hundred and two fifties.
Highest individual score
David Miller’s 106* off 47 balls in Guwahati on October 2, 2022, is the highest individual score in India vs South Africa T20Is. He struck eight fours and seven sixes as the Proteas went down fighting in a chase of 238.
Rohit Sharma (106 off 66 in Dharamsala, October 2015), Suresh Raina (101 off 60 in Gros Islet, May 2010), and Rilee Rossouw (100* off 48 in Indore, October 2022) are the other batters to have hit centuries in India vs South Africa T20Is.
Most sixes
Big-hitting left-hander David Miller has struck the most sixes (26) in India vs South Africa T20Is. Jean-Paul Duminy and Rohit Sharma are second on the list with 16 sixes each.
Highest partnership
David Miller and Quinton de Kock’s unbroken 174 runs for the fourth wicket in Guwahati on October 2, 2022, is the highest partnership in India vs South Africa T20Is. Miller remained unbeaten on 106 and De Kock on 69.
Most wickets and best bowling figures
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has claimed the most wickets in India-South Africa T20Is. In 11 innings, he has 14 scalps at an average of 18.50 with one four-fer and one five-wicket haul.
The Indian pacer also holds the record for the best bowling figures in India vs South Africa T20Is. He claimed 5/24 in four overs in Johannesburg on February 18, 2018.