India vs South Africa Match Highlights & Results

That's a wrap, folks! The pre-tournament preparations are done and it is now time to gear up for the mega event. Both these teams will be looking to start their campaign with a win but for now, it's goodbye from us. Cheers!

Let's now hear from Ishan Kishan - Kishan expresses his excitement about getting the opportunity to open the innings, but he also enjoyed batting at number 3. He emphasizes that he's focused on doing his best regardless of his batting position, especially with the World Cup approaching. He also attributes his success to being present in the moment, watching the ball closely, and playing the required shots. He credits the pitch for being tremendous to bat on in the second innings, saying he trusted the wicket's bounce. He also highlights the importance of Tilak Varma's comeback, noting that Varma brings more than just batting skills, as he can also contribute with the ball and provide stability in the middle order. He praises Varma's fielding and current batting form. Regarding bowling, Kishan acknowledges that there's always room for improvement. He feels that his team did well on the wicket, but the opposition bowled well too. He suggests that the team will review their bowling in the team meeting.

South Africa's efforts - The Proteas came into this clash on the back of a home series win against the Windies but their star batter, Quinton de Kock, didn't feature in this game. Skipper Aiden Markram played a solid knock up top but the likes of Dewald Brevis and David Miller disappointed. However, probably two batters that are vying for a spot in the Playing XI - Tristan Stubbs and Jason Smith played fighting knocks and Marco Jansen also managed to get a few big hits away.

India's story - After a scintillating display with the bat where plenty of batters got an eye in, the hosts did a fine job with the ball as well. Even without the services of Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian attack started positively as Arshdeep Singh got an early wicket. There was resistance all throughout from the Proteas but the likes of Singh and Varun Chakaravarthy bowled really well. Even the fringe bowlers like Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma were amongst the wickets. There is work to be done, though, as a few bowlers seemed out of touch and went for plenty of runs.

India almost at their peak - A fine all-round showing from the reigning T20 Champions and they have made a statement with this win. A win that will not just calm the nerves of a home tournament but will also send a signal to all the other teams. South Africa blew hot and cold all throughout the game but will be decently pleased as they got a high-octane game against a top side.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Overpitched, wide outside off, Tristan Stubbs crunches it to long off for a single. India win by 30 runs.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, Six!SIX! Hat trick of sixes! Shivam Dube dishes out a full toss, around off, asking to be hit. Stubbs goes straight this time, over long on and well over for a six.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, Six!SIX! Consecutive sixes! Dube errs and serves a gentle full toss, just outside off, Stubbs hammers it over square leg for six more.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, Six!SIX! Shivam Dube keeps it short, bowls it outside off, Stubbs stands tall and pulls it hard over Sanju Samson at long off for a biggie.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, No run.A bumper, into the surface and outside off. Too short and Tristan Stubbs fails to get his bat on it.

Shivam Dube to Corbin Bosch, 1 run.Serves it very full and wide outside off, Corbin Bosch leans and carves it over to deep cover for a single.

Abhishek Sharma to Tristan Stubbs, Six!SIX! Stubbs connects well! A bit too short and wide outside off, Stubbs holds his shape, bends his back slightly and pumps it over long off for a biggie.

Abhishek Sharma to Corbin Bosch, 1 run.Fuller delivery, outside off, Corbin Bosch punches it through covers for a single.

The next batter is Corbin Bosch.

Abhishek Sharma to Marco Jansen, OUT! b Abhishek Sharma.OUT! CASTLED! Abhishek Sharma gets his second of the night! A skiddy length delivery on middle, Marco Jansen swings a bit too hard and fails to connect. The ball stays slightly low and rolls through to hit the stumps. A quick fire 31 off 16 balls from Marco Jansen.

Abhishek Sharma to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.A half tracker on middle and leg, Stubbs opens up his body and pulls it to deep square leg for one more.

Abhishek Sharma to Marco Jansen, 1 run.Marco Jansen takes a premeditated charge and Sharma yorks him, outside off. Jansen squeezes it to point.

Abhishek Sharma to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Tossed up, full and outside off, Stubbs reverse hits it to short third man and takes a quick single.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, No run.Very full and well wide of off. Marco Jansen shuffles across but fails to dig it out.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, 2 runs.A low full toss, outside off, Marco Jansen smashes as he leans across to deep point. Rinku Singh runs to his right and slides to keep it just away from the ropes. A brace.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.A wide yorker, outside off, Stubbs carves as he opens the face of the bat to deep point for a single.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, 2 runs.A slower bumper, into the surface, too wide. Stubbs flat bats it down to long off. The fielder slight overruns but does well to stop it. Two more runs.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, 1 run.Dube bowls a low full toss, near the strip line. Marco Jansen swings and edges it to third man for a single.

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, 3 runs.Touch too full, outside off, Stubbs throws his blade at it and manages a thick inside edge past square leg. Arshdeep Singh runs across from deep backward square leg and saves a run. Three runs taken.

Arshdeep Singh to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.A wide full toss, outside off, Stubbs drags his shot to mid on and scampers across for a run.

Arshdeep Singh to Tristan Stubbs, Four!FOUR! Tickled away! A full toss, straighter delivery on the pads. Stubbs steps across, picks off the pads and helps it past short fine leg, very fine for a boundary.

Arshdeep Singh to Marco Jansen, 1 run.Singh misses his mark and bowls a full toss, wide outside off, Marco Jansen slaps it to sweeper cover for a single.

Arshdeep Singh to Marco Jansen, No run.A pacy bouncer on middle and leg. Marco Jansen ducks under it. Arshdeep Singh sees the funny side as he laughs with Marco Jansen.

Arshdeep Singh to Marco Jansen, No run.Singh keeps it full and wide of off, angled well away. Marco Jansen bends across but fails to hit it away.

Arshdeep Singh to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Serves a widish full toss, outside off, Tristan Stubbs leans across and punches it to long off for a single.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, Four!FOUR! Excellent shot this is from Jansen! Wide yorker, outside off, Marco Jansen rocks back deep into the crease and opens the face of the bat before hitting it to slice it over short third for his third boundary of the inning. 22 runs from the over!

Shivam Dube to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Short and outside off, Tristan Stubbs tries to pull it across, but gets the connection on the upper part of his bat. The ball lobs and drops safely in the vacant mid off region. Another run for SA.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, 1 run.Low full toss, on off, Marco Jansen mistimes his hit to long on. The ball flies, but drops much short of Sanju Samson in the long on region. Single taken.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, Six!SIX! This is Marco Jansen at his best! A slower one this time from Dube, fuller on middle, angling in. Marco Jansen opens his stance and hoist it up and over the deep square leg fence for a massive six.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, Four!FOUR! Marco Jansen has just started with his fireworks! Fuller on the stumps, Marco Jansen lofts it through the line, over Sanju Samson in the mid on region, for another boundary.

Shivam Dube to Marco Jansen, Six!SIX! BANG! Full and outside off, Marco Jansen smokes it straight like an arrow, to downtown for a biggie.

Shivam Dube (1-0-6-1) is back on.

Abhishek Sharma to Marco Jansen, 1 run.Short, outside off, Marco Jansen punches it to deep cover for a single.

Abhishek Sharma to Marco Jansen, Four!FOUR! SHOT! Short of a length, on leg, Marco Jansen pulls it hard to the left of the deep mid-wicket fielder for four runs to get off the mark.

Abhishek Sharma to Marco Jansen, No run.Arm ball, fuller, down the leg side, Marco Jansen looks to push it to cover, but gets beaten on the inside edge and it just misses the leg stump.

Marco Jansen is the next batter in, replacing Jason Smith.

Abhishek Sharma to Jason Smith, OUT! c Suryakumar Yadav b Abhishek Sharma.OUT! TAKEN! Abhishek Sharma has the last laugh. He once again sees the batter making room to the leg side, but he keeps his line straight to the middle stump and fuller. Jason Smith tries to smash it downtown, but to wide mid off. The ball flies and stays in the air for a very long time, enough for Suryakumar Yadav to sprint from the ropes, slide and pouch the catch at his front.

Abhishek Sharma to Jason Smith, Four!FOUR! THUMPED AWAY! Short this time from Sharma, on off. Jason Smith gets on his back foot and punches it upishly, over Abhishek once again for another boundary.

Abhishek Sharma to Jason Smith, Four!FOUR! Up and over! Abhishek Sharma follows the batter fuller, and down the leg. Jason Smith gets on his front foot and lofts it nonchalantly over the bowler and gets four runs.

DRINKS BREAK! South Africa going at a good rate but not good enough to cross the victory line. The required run rate is closing in on 20 runs per over. India will be happy with how they have performed. Suryakumar Yadav might bring back his pace bowlers back into the attack and hope they finish things off on a high.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Jason Smith, 1 run.Flatter and fuller, outside off, Jason Smith pushes it to long off for a single.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Fuller, on off, turning in, Tristan Stubbs flicks it to square leg for one.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Jason Smith, 1 run.Varun Chakaravarthy drags his length back, outside off, Jason Smith punches it with cross-bat to long off and gets another comfortable single.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Tossed up, much fuller, Tristan Stubbs jams it to long off to get another single.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Jason Smith, 1 run.Short, on off, Jason Smith pulls it to deep square leg for one.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Jason Smith, Four!FOUR! That could have been stopped! Short and outside off, Jason Smith cuts hard at it toward the left of deep point. Rinku Singh runs to his left and bends low to flick the ball, but fails to get the better. Maybe a dive would have helped him to stop the boundary.

Abhishek Sharma to Tristan Stubbs, No run.Short, just outside off, Tristan Stubbs cuts, but straight at the backward point fielder.

Abhishek Sharma to Jason Smith, 1 run.Full, on leg, Jason Smith nudges it on his front foot to long on for a single.

Abhishek Sharma to Jason Smith, Four!FOUR! Quality shot from Smith! Flat and much fuller, outside off, Jason Smith leans on the delivery and drives it through cover for four runs.

Abhishek Sharma to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Short and just outside off, Tristan Stubbs punches it on his back foot to long off and gets a comfortable single.

Abhishek Sharma to Jason Smith, 1 run.Fuller, on middle, Jason Smith gets on his back foot and flicks it to deep mid-wicket for one run.

Abhishek Sharma to Jason Smith, 2 runs.Flat and much fuller, around the toes of the batter. Jason Smith flicks it to through square leg and gets a couple of runs.

Kuldeep Yadav to Jason Smith, 1 run.Flatter one on the pads, turned away past square leg for a single.

Kuldeep Yadav to Jason Smith, No run.Beaten! A googly now, tossed up outside off. Smith backs away to cut but the ball goes well wide of his willow.

Kuldeep Yadav to Jason Smith, No run.Flatter again, on off, Smith stays back and taps it back to the bowler.

Kuldeep Yadav to Jason Smith, 2 runs.Flatter wrong'un, slower as well. Smith goes deep in the crease and tucks it down in front of square leg for a couple of quick runs.

Kuldeep Yadav to Jason Smith, Six!SIX! Crunched! Tossed up, full and on off, Jason Smith sits down and slog-sweeps with the spin, nailing it wide of deep mid-wicket for a biggie.

Kuldeep Yadav to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.KD starts the new spell with a flighted ball on leg. Stubbs works it with the spin and behind square leg for a single.

Axar Patel to Jason Smith, No run.Shorter again, angled into the body. Smith nudges it leg side and it will be another dot ball.

Axar Patel to Jason Smith, No run.Flighted up around off, Jason Smith sits down to sweep but ends up cue-ending it back to the bowler.

Axar Patel to Tristan Stubbs, 1 run.Shorter in length and on off, played off the back foot through the off side for one.

Tristan Stubbs replaces David Miller.

Axar Patel to David Miller, OUT! c Ishan Kishan b Axar Patel.OUT! EDGED AND TAKEN! That is fantastic glovework from Ishan Kishan. Axar Patel bowls it flat and a touch full, darting it across off stump. David Miller rocks back and looks to fetch and pull but the length is very full. The ball takes the inside edge and thumps the keeper's pads before popping out. Kishan dives to his right and eventually pouches it with his right glove.

Axar Patel to Jason Smith, 1 run.Dragged length around middle, Jason Smith makes room again and taps it through cover-point for a single.

Axar Patel to Jason Smith, No run.Patel begins with a flatter armbal and angles it well down leg. Smith makes room to swing across the line but misses and wears it on the pads.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Jason Smith, 1 run.A bit more flighted, full and outside off. Smith shovels the sweep through mid-wicket and picks up a single. Just 3 runs and a wicket off Varun's first over. South Africa are 99/4 after 10 overs. India had 135 runs on the board at the same stage.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Jason Smith, No run.A big wrong'un, slightly short and angled into the batter. Smith backs away to defend.

Varun Chakaravarthy to David Miller, 1 run.Length again, sliding back in from outside off. Miller strokes it wide of covers for a single.

Varun Chakaravarthy to David Miller, No run.Shorter than a good length and around off, Miller stays back and taps it in front of point.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Jason Smith, 1 run.Fuller and drifted into the pads, Smith tucks it behind square leg for a single.

Out goes Ryan Rickelton, in comes Jason Smith.

Varun Chakaravarthy to Ryan Rickelton, OUT! c Ishan Kishan b Varun Chakaravarthy.OUT! CAUGHT! Ryan Rickelton started walking back even before the catch was taken and the world's number 1 T20I bowler has struck on his very first delivery. Varun Chakaravarthy starts around the wicket to the left-hander and bowls it on a good length outside off. Rickelton looks to sit down and drag the slog sweep across but gets a top edge. The ball comes back down and the keeper, Ishan Kishan has to just take a couple of steps to his right to pouch it.

Varun Chakaravarthy is into the attack.

Tilak Varma to David Miller, 2 runs.Bowled quicker and a bit fuller on the pads. Miller opts to flick it off the back foot and he gets it wide enough of deep mid-wicket to come back for the second run.

Tilak Varma to Ryan Rickelton, 1 run.Drags the length back, bowling it around middle. Rickelton backs away and slams it down to long on for just one more.

Tilak Varma to David Miller, 1 run.Lobbed up, full and outside off, Miller drills it past the bowler and down to long off for a single.

Tilak Varma to David Miller, No run.Quicker one, darts back into middle and leg. Miller hangs back and pushes it out to cover-point.

Tilak Varma to David Miller, Four!FOUR! Hammered away by Miller. Flatter one, sliding in from off, David Miller leans back and smacks it wide of deep cover and it races away into the fence.

Tilak Varma to Ryan Rickelton, 1 run.Nicely tossed up, wide outside off, Rickelton slaps it through covers and picks up a single.

Shivam Dube to David Miller, 2 runs.Short and angling outside off, David Miller drags a pull shot to the left of long on for a couple of runs. A successful first over from Shivam Dube, picking a wicket and giving only 6 runs away!

Shivam Dube to Ryan Rickelton, 1 run.Short, outside off, Ryan Rickelton taps it to cover-point for a single.

Shivam Dube to David Miller, 1 run.Slower and on a length, on off, Miller slices it to deep point for a single.

Shivam Dube to David Miller, 2 runs.Full, on off, David Miller pushes it through cover and gets a couple of runs.

David Miller is the new batter in for South Africa.

Shivam Dube to Dewald Brevis, OUT! c Tilak Varma b Shivam Dube.OUT! CAUGHT! The slower one does the trick for Shivam Dube. The change to bring Dube into the attack has worked out well for India. Back of a length with a flick of the finger, just before releasing the delivery, wide outside off. Dewald Brevis frees his arm and tries to smoke it downtown, but miscues the shot from the upper part of his willow. The ball loops toward wide long off, where Tilak Varma gets underneath the skier and takes a good catch. Dewald Brevis walks back with just 2 runs off 4.

Shivam Dube to Dewald Brevis, No run.Back of a length, on off, Dewald Brevis slaps it back to the bowler.

Kuldeep Yadav to Ryan Rickelton, Six!SIX! Ryan Rickelton is too hot to handle! A bit more flight from Kuldeep Yadav, around the pads of the batter, but Ryan Rickelton once again crouches down and sweeps it up and over deep square leg for a massive six.

Kuldeep Yadav to Ryan Rickelton, Six!SIX! That has been dispatched out of the park! Tossed up, fuller, on off, Ryan Rickelton gets down on one knee and slog sweeps it over the deep mid-wicket fence, into the stands, for a biggie.

Kuldeep Yadav to Dewald Brevis, 1 run.Googly now, short and on middle. Dewald Brevis goes deep into the crease and punches it to long on for a single.

Kuldeep Yadav to Ryan Rickelton, 1 run.Pitches it up, does Kuldeep Yadav, on middle and leg. Ryan Rickelton sweeps it to deep backward square leg and gets a single.

Kuldeep Yadav to Ryan Rickelton, No run.Short, on middle, Ryan Rickelton rocks back and pushes it to short mid-wicket.

Kuldeep Yadav to Dewald Brevis, 1 run.Kuldeep Yadav jogs from over the wicket and bowls a touch fuller, angling away from the right-hander. Dewald Brevis cuts it through cover for a single.

Drinks Break! Done with the Powerplay. South Africa have gotten off to a solid start but they will have to keep accelerating all throughout the innings of they are to chase down this total. India will look to bring their spinners into play in the middle phase and put on a squeeze. Aiden Markram has been retired out and Dewald Brevis comes in to replace him. Also, Kuldeep Yadav will bowl right after the Powerplay.

Aiden Markram has not recovered from the injury suffered and won't be able to participate any more with the bat. As it stands, Aiden Markram is retired out.Aiden Markram has not recovered from the injury suffered and won't be able to participate any more with the bat. As it stands, Aiden Markram is retired out.

Arshdeep Singh to Ryan Rickelton, Four!FOUR! More runs! Arshdeep Singh sees the batter making room to the leg side, so Arshdeep follows Ryan, pitches it fuller, angling it down the leg side. But Rickleton does well to tickle it through fine leg for the boundary.