India will take on South Africa in the first T20I of the three-T20I series on December 10 in Johannesburg. The South African pitches offer much pace and bounce. While the extra bounce helps bowlers, the pace it generates often helps batters clear boundaries. There will be plenty of opportunities for batters to score big. It will be interesting to see how Suryakumar Yadav uses the express pace of bowlers like Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, and others. Before the T20I series, here are the top five run-scores and wicket-takers in the 17-year history of T20I cricket between the two nations.
Top five run-scorers in India vs South Africa T20I encounters:
Rohit Sharma - 17 matches, 420 runs
David Miller - 18 matches, 379 runs
Suresh Raina - 12 matches, 339 runs
Virat Kohli - 13 matches, 318 runs
Quinton de Kock - 10 matches, 312 runs
Miller needs 42 more runs to go past Rohit. Since Rohit has asked for a one-month rest from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he is not a part of the T20I squad. Virat Kohli and Quinton de Kock are missing from the T20I series as well whereas Suresh Raina has retired. Miller has a chance to move to the top and extend his lead over other batters in the list. Among current batters, Ishan Kishan (206 runs) and Suryakumar (187 runs) have a chance to move up the list.
Top five wicket-takers in India vs South Africa T20I encounters:
Bhuvneshwar Kumar - 12 matches, 14 wickets
Ravichandran Ashwin - 10 matches, 11 wickets
Lungi Ngidi – 5 matches, 10 wickets
Harshal Patel – 8 matches, 9 wickets
Wayne Parnell – 11 matches, 9 wickets
Not a single bowler from the top above list is part of the T20I series. Ngidi has been ruled out due to injury whereas the other four bowlers were not picked. However, other bowlers will have a chance to move up the list. Keshav Maharaj and Arshdeep Singh have eight wickets each. It is to be taken into account that Arshdeep has eight wickets from just three games. Deepak Chahar and Tabraiz Shamsi who have five wickets each can move up the list as well.
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