South Africa and India are set to lock horns in the third and final T20I of the ongoing series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday.
With the first game in Durban getting washed out without a single ball being played and the second T20I resulting in defeat, the visitors will hope to avenge the loss at St. George's Park with a win in Jo'burg to level the series and end the T20I leg of the tour on a positive note.
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The hosts, meanwhile, put on a good all-round showing in the game, with both the bowling and batting departments checking most boxes. They made light work of a slightly inexperienced and relatively weaker Indian bowling unit to chase the DLS target of 152 under 14 overs.
While skipper Suryakumar Yadav and the highly impressive Rinku Singh continued their fine form with bat, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to last at the crease beyond the powerplay for the sixth consecutive innings, while Shubman Gill also failed to open the scoring.
The Men in Blue will be hoping for their openers to fire on all cylinders with the competition for spots only turning more and more intense with each passing game.
With that in mind, The Sporting News brings all the information ahead of the third T20I between South Africa and India.
MORE: Johannesburg weather forecast for 3rd T20I
South Africa vs India: Predicted line-ups
It has been announced that Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee won't feature in the final T20I to prepare for the Test series. A few players could be in line for a debut.
Playing XI for South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Aiden Markram (C), Heinrich Klaasen (WK), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottniel Baartman
Playing XI for India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa vs India: Head-to-Head in T20Is
The second T20I was the 28th meeting between South Africa and India in T20Is, with the hosts notching up their 11th win. However, India still have the upper hand in H2H, winning 13 encounters.
Interestingly, the first-ever T20I played between these two sides was a nail-biting encounter played at the same venue in 2006, with India winning by six wickets and one ball to spare.
| Team | Wins | Losses | Tie/NR |
| India | 13 | 11 | 0/4 |
| South Africa | 11 | 13 | 0/4 |
South Africa vs India: Toss
Wanderers is usually a haven for batsmen as the pitches curated are often belters. The ball comes on to the bat nicely and the conditions are conducive to batting with small boundaries and a fast outfield. Of the 32 T20Is played at the Wanderers, teams batting second have a slight advantage over teams batting first, with a record of 17 wins to 15 wins, respectively. The captain that wins the toss might opt to bowl first.
South Africa vs India: Weather forecast in Johannesburg
Unlike the first two T20Is that were curtailed by rain, the chances of mother nature arriving uninvited in the form of deluge are slim. It is expected to be a fairly clear evening at the Wanderers Stadium, so we can expect a full game to be played.
South Africa vs India: Prediction for 3rd T20I
India have a good T20I record at the Wanderers Stadium, winning three and losing two T20Is in five games at this venue.
After a terrible start, having put in to bat first by the hosts, skipper SKY and the ravishing Rinku resurrected India's innings with a fine partnership. The middle-order has been performing well for India, but they will hope for the openers to provide the team with an ideal start.
In the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh's wicket-taking ability is unquestionable, but what will bother the management is his knack of leaking runs. It begs the question whether the Punjab left-arm quick can take his game to the next level and be a lethal bowler while being economical.
As for the hosts, Reeza Hendricks staked his claim as South Africa's first-choice opener in the shorter formats. The Klaasen-Markram-Miller middle-order trioka form the backbone of the Proteas' batting line-up and much of the responsibility to score runs and bail the team out of a rut will rest on them as they are the most experienced batsmen.
With Jansen and Coetzee set to miss the third T20I, 28-year-old Nandre Burger is the ideal like-for-like replacement for Jansen as he is also a left-arm quick. Ottniel Baartman is also likely to be handed his T20I debut, with the right-arm fast-medium bowler boasting a pretty good domestic record.
With two debutants potentially set to be included in the South African playing XI, and India unlikely to change their XI, the visitors will fancy their chances to leveling the series.
South Africa vs India: Betting odds for 3rd T20I
As per the Dafabet odds, India are slight favourites to beat South Africa.
| Team | Betting odds |
| South Africa | 2.02 |
| India | 1.83 |
