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SA vs IND 2024/25, SA vs IND 1st T20I Match Report, November 8, 2024

South Africa decided to do so Bowl v India

Aiden Markam decided to watch the first South African home game of the summer with a squad full of all-rounders. Both Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee were included in the eleven for the first time in almost four months as they returned from injuries and conditioning blocks. Patrick Kruger, who played on both sides of the T20 World Cup, retained his place and South Africa brought in a fourth seam bowling all-rounder in debutant Andile Simelane. The occasion was very special for the 21-year-old, who plays his local cricket in Durban.
South Africa also have the option of two specialist spinners in left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj and leg-spinner Nqabayomzi Peter, while Markram could also bowl. Markram's regular opening partner Reeza Hendricks had to miss the game due to illness.

India spun strongly with two leg-spinners in Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi, left-arm spinner Axar Patel, left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh and fast right-arm spinner Avesh Khan. There was no place for all-rounder Ramandeep Singh, who is yet to play an international match. Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma could also bowl. Their batting line-up was led by Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya but ends with Axar at number 7.

Suryakumar was happy to bat first on a surface that lends itself to big run-scoring in conditions where a complete game should be played. Despite a few gray clouds in the sky, a strong breeze was expected to keep them moving and keeping the large crowd entertained.

South Africa: 1 Ryan Rickelton, 2 Aiden Markram (captain), 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (week), 5 David Miller, 6 Patrick Kruger, 7 Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Nqabayomzi Peter.

India: 1 Sanju Samson (Week), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Varun Chakravarthy.

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