India Vs South Africa, T20 World Cup Super 8: Head-To-Head, Key Battles And Possible Changes

The 2024 T20 World Cup finalists, India and South Africa, are set to cross paths again in the current edition of the tournament at a crucial juncture at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22, 2026.

While India entered the tournaments as firm favourites to defend their title, it hasn't been smooth sailing for the team in the first leg, with the batting order not firing all guns blazing like it was expected from them.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma's rejigged philosophy of dropping anchor rather than going for big strokes will be tested by a quality South African side that seems ready to find chinks in the Indian armour during their opening Super Eight match of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday.

Save for opener Ishan Kishan (two fifties and Strike Rate of 202), the other three batters in the top four haven't exactly set the stage on fire till now.

Key Battles: Abhishek Sharma Vs Aiden Markram

Abhishek Sharma is literally out of runs with three ducks and as much as Suryakumar and Tilak justify playing an anchor role, the Mumbai Indians colleagues have looked far from smooth on tracks where the ball is gripping.

With Abhishek falling to off-spinners twice in a row, it will be interesting to see whether skipper Markram decides to bowl off-breaks in the Powerplay

Key Battles: Tilak Varma vs Markram/Maharaj

While Abhishek's form remains a concern, Tilak's scratchy batting throughout the first leg cannot be brushed under the carpet. Against Pakistan, he scored 25 off 24 balls while against Namibia it was 25 off 21 and versus Netherland, it was a painstaking 31 off 27 balls.

His strike rate in the tournament is just above 120, which is significantly less than his career average of 141.

Key Battles: Arshdeep Singh Vs De Kock

Quinton de Kock has been South Africa's one of the most prominent T20I batters of all-times but Arshdeep Singh has had the number of the Proteas southpaw in the recent times.

Since June 2024, Arshdeep Singh has dismissed de Kock 4 out of 8 times, while giving just 38 runs off 39 balls.

India Vs South Africa, T20 World Cup Super 8: Head-To-Head

Matches: 31

India: 18

South Africa: 12

No Result: 1

India Vs South Africa, T20 World Cup Super 8: Coach's Corner

India's bowling coach defended the slightly tacky pitches being prepared for the World Cup especially in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, contrary to the expectations before the start of the tournament.

"I can think of it being a job of everybody wanting certain expectations of the fans, high-scoring games. There's a lot of pressure on those guys. They put a lot of hard work into giving us the best surface that they can possibly prepare," he said ahead of India's Super Eight match against South Africa here on Sunday.

"I still think till this day it's very hard to say a wicket is going to play this way. I think we're all always standing. We've got some sort of ideas. There's moisture. It looks a little bit dry. It will hold or skid on.

"But in terms of controlling the wicket and saying this is how it's going to play, it's very hard to call that bang on.

"And I think so far this tournament we've done that really well with batting and bowling. Bar the one game, the first game, I think it wasn't a 200-plus surface. It was maybe a 170 surface, and we went out a little bit too hard at the start.

"But again, that was the learning. So every game there's been learning so far, and I think that's the beauty about this game, is that they will be learning from the surface every time," Morkel said.

While Morne Morkel is India's bowling coach, his brother Albie Morkel has joined the Proteas team as a consultant. When asked about the new rivalry between brothers on the field, Albie gave an interesting reply that it's a conundrum for her mother deciding which team to support back at home.

"No, we don't talk to each other. I think my mother, she's more worried than us. She doesn't know who to support, India or South Africa," Albie had said in jest recently.

Albie also hailed Stephen Fleming as his role mode in coaching given his success and longevity with the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

"Stephen has been a big influence on me. I think he's one of the only coaches, or maybe the only coach in the world who's been at a franchise (CSK) for 17 years. That's unheard of, said Albie Morkel in the press conference.

India Vs South Africa, T20 World Cup Super 8: Possible Changes

As far as changes are concerned, Axar Patel will be back after a one match rest to replace Washington Sundar.

For South Africa, Jansen, Ngidi and Maharaj, all of whom were rested against the UAE, will be making a comeback against India in Ahmedabad.

Chakravarthy And Bumrah Hold The Key For India

Varun Chakravarthy, with nine wickets in four games, has bowled at a stunning economy rate of 5.16 and Bumrah, miserly as ever in his three games, has gone for only six runs per over.

But against an in-form batting line-up, which has freaks like Quinton de Kock, Markram, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickleton, David Miller and Marco Jansen in its top seven, the entire bowling unit will need to come good.

From PTI Inputs