Following defeat to Australia on home soil in the 50-over Cricket World Cup, India send a touring party to South Africa to take on the Proteas in all three formats, beginning with a three-game T20 series that starts on Sunday, December 10 at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium Cricket Ground in Durban.
India are currently the top-ranked side in the world when it comes to the shortest international format, with South Africa down in sixth.
India are favourites to win the series at 8/13. South Africa are 13/10 to cause the upset. A 2-1 series win for India is the most likely outcome according to the bookies at 13/8, with the Indian whitewash (3-0_ a healthy 3/1.
Those prices are echoed for the first T20 on Sunday. India are 8/11 to claim victory with South Africa 11/10.
The world's top batter in the format, Suryakumar Yadav, is set to captain the Indian touring side. Yadav averages 44.11 in the format over 55 innings with 16 half centuries and three tons. Batting four, he's not in the best form having scored just one 50 in a five-match series against Australia last month.
In four games against South Africa in the format Yadav has scores of 50*, 61, 8 and 68, a sublime record for the middle order star. The 33-year-old has hit at least two sixes in five of his last seven innings.
Another world top 10 batter is Ruturaj Gaikwad, who averages 35.71 in the format with a century and three 50s in 17 innings. His form recently has been exceptional with scores of 58, 123*, 32, 10 as an opener in the recent series against Australia. He has hit 10 sixes and 21 fours over his past four innings.
South Africa also boast a pair top 10 batters in the world rankings - Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks who are third and ninth in the world respectively. Markram boasts an average of 39.37 over 33 T20I appearances, but he has failed to reach 50 in his last eight innings. At Durban, Markram has scored 97 runs in three outings.
The form horse may be Hendricks who has scores of 42, 3, 56, 83 and 68 in his last five innings. He has not enjoyed good form against India, however, with just one 50 in seven innings against the world number one. He has scored 143 runs in four innings in Durban.
Switching impetus to the bowling options in this one, India's leg-spinning supremo Ravi Bishnoi is currently the number one bowler in the world in the T20I format. The 23-year-old has 34 wickets in 21 innings including eight in his last four games. This will be the first time the spinner has faced the Proteas in the format.
For South Africa, Tabraiz Shamsi is the bookies' favourite to be the Top Bowler in the opening game of the series. The left-arm spinner has just four wickets in his last five games and only five wickets in 10 meetings with India. He also has just three wickets in three games at the Durban venue.
