What happened the last time India played a T20I in Johannesburg?
India take on South Africa in the third and final T20I of the series at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday. The same venue is the host for the first ODI of the series to be played on Sunday as well.
Having been down 0-1 in the T20I series owing to the defeat they suffered at the hands of the hosts in the second game (the first match was washed out without a ball being bowled), the Men in Blue will want to redeem themselves here.
The pitch at the Wanderers is known to assist seamers and for the first time in years, this stat will not go against the Indians.
The visitors possess a strong bowling attack consisting of quality pacers, who will enjoy rolling their arms over here.
The last time that India played a T20I at the New Wanderers was back in their tour of 2018, comprising three Tests, six ODIs and three T20Is. The match in Johannesburg was the first of the three T20Is.
Batting first, India posted a mammoth 203-5, thanks to opener Shikhar Dhawan's 72. Rohit Sharma, who opened the innings with Dhawan, got the Men in Blue off to a fine start with his 21 off just nine balls. Then, Suresh Raina continued the momentum with 15 off just 7 deliveries.
Skipper Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey contributed 20s to the score, even as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Hardik Pandya put the finishing touches to the total.
South Africa, as expected, started well, with openers JJ Smuts and Reeza Hendricks tearing into the Indian seamers. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar ran through the top order to expose a relatively inexperienced middle order.
Despite Hendricks' impressive knock of 70, the Indians proved to be the better of the lot. Kumar secured a five-wicket haul, and finished with figures of 5/24 in four overs.
India went on to win the game by 28 runs, and will be keen on doing the same on Thursday as well.
India need a series win in the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2024
This series, of which only one game is remaining, will provide some good practice for India in the build-up to the T20 World Cup, supposed to be held in June next year.
A lot of the players who have been on the fringes of the Indian side will be hoping to impress the selectors before the T20I series against Afghanistan. But, the management may choose not to take too many risks given that this is a do-or-die encounter.