First T20I: India put South Africa in to bat | LIVE cricket scores

Follow India vs South Africa LIVE! The Proteas are set to take on their hosts in a Twenty20 International at the Greenfield International Stadium.

First T20I: India put South Africa in to bat | LIVE cricket scores

India vs South Africa: The Proteas are set to take on their hosts in a Twenty20 International at the Greenfield International Stadium.

The toss is scheduled to take place at 15:00, when teams will be confirmed for the match.

Follow India vs South Africa LIVE!

Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma is the focus for many ahead of this three-match series which serves as the final preparation for the team ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Bavuma has had plenty of distractions with the national team skipper going unsold in the SA20 auction and concerns about his batting form.

“I’ve tried to put all those things behind me,” Bavuma said earlier this week. 

India vs South Africa
Temba Bavuma of South Africa. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

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“As I said earlier, my biggest focus is on the role that I have, which is to lead and serve the team as best as I can, make sure that the guys are in the best place possible going into that big World Cup tournament. All other distractions, all other sideshows, that’s stuff that I’ll deal with on a personal level, but now, here, being within the team, as long as I’m still wearing that shirt, it will be to lead and serve the team as best as I can.”

South Africa have never lost a T20I series in India but Bavuma expects India to make a huge effort to change that.

“We’re expecting it to be a good series, a competitive one, as it always is when we play India,” he said.

“The last time we were here, we were tested and challenged in all departments of our game and I think we answered those challenges quite well. So I expect a good, strong and competitive series.

“As you would have seen in the last while their confidence has boosted the performances of the team,” Bavuma added.

“We expect them to obviously come on and lead from the front, which is good practice for the team. It will be good for us to come up against their best. We expect those guys to bring a lot of confidence and X-factor into their team.”