The penultimate T20I series between South Africa and India before the T20 World Cup got underway with home captain Rohit Sharma choosing to bowl on a Thiruvananthapuram pitch that appeared to be conducive to tonnes of runs and a fair bit of dew.

Deepak Chahar, a last-minute replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, picked up the wicket of Protea captain Temba Bavuma in the very first over.

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Arshdeep Singh then grazed through the wickets of Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, and David Miller in the second over in a spectacular show of pace and length.

Chahar returned for the third over to send back Tristan Stubbs to the stands, marking the third golden duck of the match.

India changed four positions from their previous match. Because of a back injury, Deepak Chahar is playing in place of Jasprit Bumrah. R Ashwin steps in for Yuzvendra Chahal. Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are replaced by Rishabh Pant and Arshdeep Singh, who were on rest.

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Only five bowlers, including two spinners, are used by each team. The left-arm spinners for the visitors are Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj, while the pacers are Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Wayne Parnell. The Indian fast bowling lineup consists of Harshal Patel, Chahar, and Arshdeep.

“I think it is very critical to keep doing what you’ve been doing, and keep that momentum with you,” Rohit said after winning the toss. “We’ve been playing some good cricket, and want to continue. When you win games, there’s a lot of healthy atmosphere and we want to maintain it. At the same time, we want to tick all our boxes. This series gives us another perfect opportunity to fine-tune what is required from the team’s perspective.”

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“The guys always enjoy an India trip, you see the fans, see the full crowd, something you don’t see always,” Bavuma stated before the match. “Good for me to be back as well, I’ve been out of action for a while too, it’s nice. The guys always enjoy an India trip, you see the fans, see the full crowd, something you don’t see always. Good for me to be back as well, I’ve been out of action for a while too, it’s nice.”

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.

South Africa Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (capt), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.