T20 World Cup 2024 champions, India, restarted their overseas tour on a high as they defeated South Africa by 61 runs in the first T20I of the series in Durban. India’s Sanju Samson became a fan favorite after he slammed a cracking century, while other batters like Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav also chipped in, helping India post 202 runs while batting first. In reply, South Africa’s batters faltered, failing to make any impact. As a result, the hosts began their home series against India on a poor note. Now, for the hosts, there are many areas to improve, from powerplay bowling to middle-over batting. The underperformance of Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller also became a reason for the defeat. However, the second T20I will likely present some changes from this side. Check the St. George’s Park pitch report to see what we can anticipate in the 2nd T20I game.
St George’s Park pitch report
Looking at the pitch at St. George’s Park, it provides decent assistance to batters in the early innings, but as the game progresses, it starts to favor spin bowlers. Batting first on this ground is considered advantageous, as scoring runs is relatively easier in the first inning. Out of the 8 Test matches played here in the last 10 years, the team batting first has won 5 matches. From the second innings onwards, the pitch becomes slower, and the ball starts to spin, with many rough areas on the surface, making it more challenging for batters to score runs. In T20I matches as well, the surface is favourable for both batters and fast bowlers.
However, the team batting first has a slight advantage, as the ball comes onto the bat well in the first inning. In the 4 T20 matches played here, the team batting first has won 2 times, and the second-batting team has also won twice. Since the international sample size is a bit smaller, 48 matches have been played so far. The pitch here proves to be helpful for batters, especially those who take their time to build an innings. Regardless of whether the team wins the toss or not, the win percentage is almost the same for both the first and second innings. The team batting first has won 24 times, while the team chasing the target has also won 24 times.
St George’s Park stats
| T20I | Details |
| First Match | December 16, 2007 – West Indies beat South Africa by 5 wickets |
| Last Match | December 12, 2023 – South Africa beat India by 5 wickets (D/L method) |
| Home Team Wins | 3 |
| Away Team Wins | 1 |
| Neutral Team Wins | 0 |
| Matches Tied | 0 |
| No Result | 0 |
| Most Successful Team | South Africa – 3 wins |
| Highest Innings Score | 180/7 – by India on December 12, 2023 – South Africa beat India by 5 wickets (D/L method) |
| Wins Batting First | 2 |
| Wins Batting Second | 2 |
| First Inning Batting Win % | 50% |
| Average Innings Score | 135 |
| Average First Innings Score | 144 |
| Average Second Innings Score | 127 |
| Most Prolific Batter | Quinton de Kock (72 runs) |
| Highest Individual Score | 70 – by Quinton de Kock v Australia on February 23, 2020 – South Africa beat Australia by 12 runs |
| Most Successful Bowler | Dale Steyn (4 wickets) |
| Pacer Wickets | 37 |
| Spinner Wickets | 9 |
India vs South Africa T20 2024 squads
IND: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.
SA: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Patrick Kruger, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Mihlali Mpongwana, Nqaba Peter, Ryan Rickelton, Andile Simelane, Tristan Stubbs, Lutho Sipamla (3rd and 4th T20Is)
