India vs South Africa, 1st T20I: 5 Key Battles To Watch Out For

Team India will huddle back for international duty as they take on South Africa in a five-match T20 International (T20I) series from Thursday. The first match of the series will act as a platform for the hosts to chase an all-time 13-0 T20I winning record and become an all-time great team in this format leading to the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The first match won't be a walk in the part for the Rishabh Pant-led team as the Proteas will look to halt the winning streak and continue their impressive form against Team India.

Below are 5 key battles to watch out for during the highly anticipated series.

Rishabh Pant vs Anrich Nortje

The upcoming T20I series can be a serious match-up between Rishabh Pant's aggressive intent and the pace of Anrich Nortje. The Delhi Capitals captain, who finished the season with 340 runs at an average of 30.91 and a strike rate of 151.79, will certainly want to up the ante. His presence in the middle order adds more steel to the batting department, but it remains to be seen how the wicketkeeper-batter handles the pace of Nortje. The South Africa pacer, plying his trade for DC under the leadership of Pant, has been hit by quite a few injury woes. However, during the six matches that he played in the IPL 2022, he picked nine wickets and would be eager to raise the bar in the T20I series and against his IPL captain too.

Ishan Kishan vs Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada had a great IPL 2022, while Ishan Kishan's season was not as stellar as he would have hoped. Kishan, the most expensive player at the mega auction ahead of the season, scored 418 runs at a strike rate of 120.11. Pace machine Rabada, meanwhile, spoiled many parties with 23 wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 8.46. Kishan,