Last Updated on 2 weeks by Charbel Coorey

IND vs SA 1st T20 Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible 11 Pitch Report | IND vs SA 1st T20 Dream11 Prediction Today | India vs South Africa 1st T20I Key Players | Delhi Pitch Report

International cricket is set to resume in India with the home side taking on the touring South African team in the first T20I of the upcoming series in New Delhi. The two teams will play five matches in this series as they build up to the World T20 that is set to take place in Australia later on this year.

The Indian side was dealt with a major blow on Wednesday as KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav had to pull out due to groin and hand injuries respectively. Rahul was slated to lead India in the absence of Rohit Sharma in this series. Now, the captaincy mantle has been handed over to Rishabh Pant whereas Hardik Pandya has been named as his deputy on the back of his heroics with the Gujarat Titans.

On the other hand, the Proteas have a well-settled unit with no major injury concerns. They will be banking on the likes of David Miller and Quinton de Kock to fire after their promising displays in the IPL. The South Africans have also added the 21-year-old Tristan Stubbs in the squad, who was drafted into the Mumbai Indians squad as a replacement for Tymal Mills towards the fag end of the previous campaign.

IND vs SA 1st T20 Possible Playing 11

India might have to make some changes in the top-order in the absence of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rahul. They are also likely to the put the finishing responsibilities on Dinesh Karthik.

India: 1: Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2: Ishan Kishan, 3: Shreyas Iyer, 4: Rishabh Pant (wk & c), 5: Hardik Pandya, 6: Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7: Axar Patel, 8: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9: Harshal Patel, 10: Yuzvendra Chahal, 11: Ravi Bishnoi.

The South African bowling will be bolstered with the express pace of Anrich Nortje and the skillsets of Kagiso Rabada. Their middle-order will have a solid look if the likes of Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and Miller take charge proactively.

South Africa:  1: Quinton de Kock (wk), 2: Reeza Hendricks, 3: Rassie van der Dussen, 4: Aiden Markram, 5: Temba Bavuma (c), 6: David Miller, 7: Dwaine Pretorius, 8: Kagiso Rabada, 9: Keshav Maharaj, 10: Tabraiz Shamsi, 11: Anrich Nortje

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

India:

• Hardik Pandya is fresh from his highly successful IPL campaign. Whilst, he may don a different role here, Pandya’s incredible abilities with both the bat and the ball makes him a fine pick for the fantasy team.
• Ruturaj Gaikwad might have had an inconsistent IPL season (326 runs) but he is someone whom the team can rely on to fetch some definite runs at the top. He has the ability to play a long innings once he is set and will have to just bide his time through the powerplay overs for that.
• Rishabh Pant will relish taking on the Protea spinners, particularly in the middle-overs. Moreover, he will bag some crucial points through dismissals from behind the wickets as well.
• With 51 wickets in 30 games in the last two IPL seasons, Harshal Patel has arguably emerged as India’s premier death bowler in T20Is.The pitch in Delhi might suit his strengths and expect him to derail the South African innings towards the backend of the innings.
• Yuzvendra Chahal took the highest number of wickets (27) ever scalped by a spinner in a single season of the IPL in 2022. He will surely carry on that rich vein of form against South Africa, who historically tend to struggle against the slower bowlers.

South Africa:

• Quinton de Kock scored 508 runs in IPL 2022 and he looks all set to display a similar dominance against the Indian bowlers in the upcoming series. Moreover, he has a safe pair of hands behind the stumps and hence is likely to earn some crucial fantasy points there.
• David Miller found form and that too in some serious style in the recently concluded IPL. He scored 481 runs in Gujarat’s title-winning campaign and played multiple match-winning knocks. This new revamped version of Miller is a force to reckon with for the Indian team.
• Miller was particularly brilliant when chasing in IPL 2022. He hit 320 runs at a strike rate of 152.38, and was dismissed just twice.
• Dwaine Pretorius fills in as an all-rounder in this South African XI. He delivered some encouraging performances in IPL 2022 and looks to have furnished his death-bowling skills in recent times. One can rely on him to get some key scalps in the death overs in the coming game.
• Anrich Nortje had an injury-ridden IPL campaign but he still managed to pick nine wickets in merely six games for Delhi Capitals. The express pacer can trouble the Indian batsmen with his hard lengths and toe-crushing yorkers during every phase of an innings.
• Kagiso Rabada took 23 wickets for the Punjab Kings in 2022 and he has consistently shown the capability to trouble the Indian batsmen with his imperious skillsets with both the new and the old ball. Moreover, Delhi is a favoured hunting ground for Rabada considering he spent some fruitful seasons with the Delhi Capitals over there.

Other Stats and Facts

• Head-to-Head: Played 15, India 9, South Africa 6.
• India is currently on a winning streak of 12 consecutive T20Is.
• South Africa has never lost a T20I series in India. They won the series 2-0 in 2015 and drew 1-1 in 2019.
• India played its first ever T20I against South Africa way back in 2006. Dinesh Karthik was the Man of the Match in that game. 15 years down the line, he is again expected to be an important part of the team in this series.

Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi Pitch Report and Weather

The Arun Jaitley Stadium usually delivers a slow and sluggish wicket but it can be expected to have more pace as the international season is just starting off and the curators will most likely deliver a fresh deck for this game. With respect to the weather, Delhi is battling some tumultuous hot weather currently. The temperature is expected to be around 41 °C during the time when the game will begin.

IND vs SA 1st T20 Dream11 Prediction 9th June 2022

Note: The below teams are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these in time. Use the stats and commentary in this article as well as your own instincts to create your teams.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

Base Team:

• Wicket-Keepers: Quinton de Kock, Rishabh Pant
• Batsmen: David Miller, Ruturaj Gaikwad
• All-rounders: Hardik Pandya
• Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel

Match Prediction

The chasing team should be well placed to win with a chance of dew. That said, India start as favourites at home despite the promise South Africa have shown over the past year.