World Cup final redux: South Africa clash with India in pivotal T20 series

Follow Al Jazeera’s live coverage of the second T20 here.
The wounds of a painful loss at the ICC T20 World Cup final will still be fresh for South Africa as they face their conquerors India in a four-match T20 series at home starting on Friday.
More than four months may have passed since India’s comeback victory, which sealed their second T20 world title in Barbados, but the South African side will be hurting for letting slip what could have been their first ICC World Cup trophy.
A lot has changed since June 29, with a number of Indian stalwarts making their exit from the game’s shortest format and the champions continuing a near-perfect winning streak in T20 internationals under new captain Suryakumar Yadav.
Amid the loss of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja to retirement, as well as the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant due to Test cricket duties, India’s next generation of players have made their name in the three T20 series since July.
Meanwhile, South Africa have had a poor run in their two series since the final, losing all three games away to the West Indies and one against Ireland.
The Proteas, too, have played a number of fresh faces in their recent limited-overs series but Aiden Markram remains their T20 captain.
Both teams and, indeed, all top nations around the world, will look to rebuild for the next T20 World Cup, which is just over a year away.
The world champions will get a chance to defend their title at home in the February-March ICC T20 World Cup 2026 to be played in India and Sri Lanka.
For now, though, the focus will be on South Africa’s ability to bounce back from a number of poor results and whether India can continue their hot winning streak away from home.
The 27 T20 encounters between the two sides have been nearly even, with India winning 15 games – including the World Cup final – and South Africa 11. One game ended in a “no result” due to a washout.
Both teams won a game apiece when the Proteas last hosted India in a bilateral T20 series in December.
The hosts’ fortunes in the T20 format have taken a hit since the June 29 final loss in Barbados, as they have won only one of their five T20 international matches.
Last five results: L W L L L
The world champions are on a 10-game winning streak in the T20 format, with a shock loss away to Zimbabwe in July being the only blot on their 23-match record in 2024.
Last five results: W W W W W
Al Jazeera’s live text and photo coverage for each game will begin three hours before the match start time. Game 1 can be watched here.
Markram continues to lead the side as they look to rebuild ahead of the next T20 World Cup without the swashbuckling top-order batter-wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, who hung up his boots in June.
The fast-bowling duo of Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen have returned to the squad after injury lay-offs with Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj and David Miller also back but Kagiso Rabada has been rested.
All-rounder Mihlali Mpongwana, 24, has received his maiden call-up.
The Proteas have plenty of power hitters, including Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs.
Squad: Aiden Markram (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton (wicketkeeper), Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla, Tristan Stubbs
India are set to hand debuts to batter Ramandeep Singh, as well as pacers Vijaykumar Vyshak and Yash Dayal.
Three players – Riyan Parag, Mayank Yadav and Shivam Dube – who were part of the home T20 series against Bangladesh are out due to injuries.
Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.