India vs South Africa, 4th T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
Match abandoned - due to excessive fog
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Shubman Gill will badly want to get match-fit for Friday's contest because he rules with the bat in Ahmedabad. His only T20I hundred came at the Narendra Modi Stadium and even has a great IPL record. All in all, expect a high octane contest as we generally see batters have good fun there. Shutters down for the day. See you all soon!
21:25 Local Time, 15:55 GMT, 21:25 IST: Fans wait in hope of a game as the umpires come out for their inspection. They have a look at the floodlights from the batter's crease. Match has been called off. It was inevitable as there is no way the visibility could have improved. So we head to Ahmedabad with South Africa only having a chance of levelling the series now.
21:01 Local Time, 15:31 GMT, 21:01 IST: The next, and likely final, inspection will be at 9:25pm.
20:32 Local Time, 15:02 GMT, 20:32 IST: The umpires are out there conducting another inspection. Rajiv Shukla is there as well and is having a word with the umpires now. No decision once more following inspection, we'll now have to wait for the next one at 9pm.
20:05 Local Time, 14:35 GMT, 20:05 IST: No happy news after this inspection either. They'll evaluate things once more at 8:30pm. The pitch is being covered by a large cloth rug. There's also evidence of dew on the buggy-cam tyres.
19:56 Local Time, 14:26 GMT, 19:56 IST: Aayush says the fog has gotten worse
Dale Steyn on air reckons that if the match doesn't get started now, we might struggle to get a game in.
19:29 Local Time, 13:59 GMT, 19:29 IST: The umpires are out in the middle now doing the inspection. Looks like they are doing a visibility test. One of the umps is standing near the pitch and has asked his colleague go the boundary to see if they can clearly see each other and the ball. And, they have scheduled another inspection for 20:00.
Conditions haven't improved and the umps will do another inspection at 7:30pm. All the SA players who were practicing on the outfield earlier have returned to the dressing room.
Aayush is at the venue and he says the fog is so thick that he can barely see the stands at the opposite end.
The toss has been delayed, inspection will take place at 6:50pm, it is because of the thick fog around.
Shubman Gill has been ruled out of today's game due to a foot injury.
Pitch report: "It's a chilly and foggy wintery evening. It's nice and cold. 66m square boundaries, 77m down the ground. Mixture of red and black soil. Generally expect it to be good, hold quite nicely and have good bounce. The pitch is very cold to the touch, difficult to keep moisture out of the pitch because of the season. Therefore, the expectation is that it won't as high scoring as it normally is. Should expect around 150-160. There will be lateral movement, might get help from the surface when the dew sets in," say Deep Dasgupta and Pommie Mbangwa.
18:00 Local Time, 12:30 GMT, 18:00 IST: While South Africa arrive in Lucknow with the series on the line and India with a chance to clinch it, both teams’ broader focus on the T20 World Cup will not have shifted. South Africa were thoroughly beaten in the third T20I at Dharamsala, much like they were in the first game at Cuttack. And like Cuttack, it was a batting surrender, one that would’ve appeared much worse if not for Aiden Markram’s fighting 61, that was to blame for their loss at Dharamsala too. Two collapses in such proximity are likely to at least raise some concerns if not set the alarm bells off in the South African camp. As South Africa continue to hunt for their ideal playing XI, they’ll have to also contend with the added pressure of a must-win game. As for India, they still face the same concerns they came into the series with. Shubman Gill got runs in the last game but not enough to signal a return to form with certainty. And Suryakumar Yadav not even that. The premise, therefore, remains unchanged. There is a series to play for but a World Cup to prepare for.
Preview by Aayush Puthran
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.
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.
Squads:
South Africa Squad: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde, Tony de Zorzi, Lutho Sipamla, Kwena Maphaka
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah
