India aim to wrap up series against South Africa in Lucknow
If India win in Lucknow on Wednesday, it will mark their 14th consecutive T20I series triumph. A defeat for South Africa would take their record to 19 losses in 29 games. Framing the contest as a head-to-head between the finalists of the last T20 World Cup might feel somewhat underwhelming in that context.
The fortunes in the shortest format of the two sides since that mega tournament have headed in opposite directions. But that's not to say that there is as much of a disparity in the individual talent the two sides possess as the eventual results of their last year and a half in the format suggest. Even as the visitors have been outplayed in two of the three games so far, the series is far from over. They have the opportunity to take the series to the decider, and propel them with much-needed confidence in their lead up to the 2026 T20 World Cup.
More critically though, the bigger result of the contest may not be as much of importance for either teams as would be the finer concerns within their respective build-up plans. Small, but plenty.
As the north Indian caravan continues, the conditions are unlikely to be too different from the last few games. The chill and fog in the air is going to be familiar, and so will be a bit of dew and early assistance for pacers. Abhishek Sharma had suggested that such conditions could be expected when the next World Cup comes around, and victory or defeat, there could be no better preparation to fine tune the last bits of their respective concerns.
When: Wednesday, December 17, 2025, 7:00 PM IST
Where: BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
What to expect: The evening is expected to be chilly and foggy. Dew may come into play quite early in the contest. However, the recent T20 games at the venue have produced middling totals, with some early movement to support the pacers but not much assistance for the spinners.
Team News:
India: Axar Patel has been ruled out of the series, and Shahbaz Ahmed has been included as his replacement. There is no official word from BCCI on Jasprit Bumrah's availability but Shivam Dube said, he 'thinks' that Bumrah is available for the 4th T20I.
Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Harshit Rana/ Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
South Africa: Following another batting collapse, South Africa would look to continue with its rotation of players.
Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Ottneil Baartman
Did you know?
- Abhishek Sharma is 47 runs away from surpassing Virat Kohli's 2016 record of 1614 runs - the most by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20 cricket
- India have bowled out their opponents 15 times in 33 innings since July 2024 - the most by a team in this period
- India have won seven of the eight completed T20Is featuring the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy in 2025
What they said:
"There's a lot of competition as well, which creates opportunity and also creates a little bit of pressure for guys in the team, which is good. It's what you want. That's something that's built up over the last year or two and it just puts guys under pressure, and a lot of guys have to fight for a spot, which is great." - Anrich Nortje, South Africa pacer.
"He is a fighter. Whether he is scoring runs or not, he remains the same. He always wants to do something for the team. He is an innovative and threatening player." -Shivam Dube, India all-rounder, on captain Suryakumar Yadav.
