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India National Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Match: South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl first in the opening match of the five-game T20I series against India at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. South Africa had won the preceding Test series 2-0 before India bounced back to claim the ODI series 2-1. The T20I format offers both teams an opportunity to continue their preparations for the 2026 World Cup.The series marks the return of all-rounder Hardik Pandya who had been out since the Asia Cup. Shubman Gill is also back after recovering from a neck injury suffered during the first Test in Kolkata. India had previously beaten Australia 2-1 in T20Is on their tour Down Under.South Africa captain Aiden Markram said he expects conditions to be good for bowling but dew may play a role later in the game. "We're going to bowl first. Expecting conditions to be good here in India. Quite a bit of dew around, might be a constant throughout the game but might get a bit worse later. (Quick turnaround time between formats) It's the way things work, lot of the games end up playing in the mind, need to get yourself in the right frame of mind. Fantastic build-up to the World Cup. From a conditions point of view, it's going to be great. You can’t simulate these, certainly not back in South Africa, so that’s a massive thing. And then obviously testing yourself against one of the better outfits in the world. Looking forward to that, seeing where we are. And we’ve got another couple of months after this to fine-tune things and hopefully be ready for that World Cup," Markram said after winning the toss. India captain Suryakumar Yadav said the pitch was a bit confusing early but batting first would provide a good challenge. "That’s okay. I mean, we were a little confused looking at the wicket. Yesterday it was looking a little more greener, but today we were a little confused. But it’s okay, we’re happy to bat first. It gives a good challenge to put runs on the board and come out here and defend. I mean, see, it (dew factor) becomes a little challenging for the bowlers - you can’t run away from the fact. But going from here on, I think that’s going to remain for a really long time. It has been there for a very long time. So if we keep focusing on that, I think the main job will be in trouble in doing that. But yeah, let’s not think about it and have it as a challenge. We had a good series in Australia. Now we play five T20s against South Africa and then we play against New Zealand, so 15 good T20s. I think it’s good preparation. Same thing what we’ve been doing in the last few series: be fearless, enjoy the game, and be at it for the next three hours. It (selection) is a very good headache to have. But I’ll tell you the guys who are missing out: Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana," SKY said.IND vs SA 1st T20I Playing XIsSouth Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich NortjeIndia (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep SinghPitch reportThe Barabati Stadium pitch is a red-soil wicket re-laid in 2023. It has a good grass covering but a few cracks underneath. Batters are expected to enjoy the bounce. Bowling first is considered an advantage because the surface is slightly dusty.

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