Varun Chakravarthy. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

It is that time of the year when cricketers across the world are glued to the screens, waiting with bated breath to know whether they have hit the jackpot.

Amid all the attention on the IPL mini-auction in Abu Dhabi, there are far more pressing matters at hand for India and South Africa.

The Men in Blue, leading 2-1, will look to seal their eighth consecutive T20I series victory when they take on the Proteas in the fourth T20I at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday (December 17, 2025).

Suryakumar Yadav’s men bounced back strongly in the previous outing in Dharamshala with a comprehensive seven-wicket win to edge ahead in the five-match contest.

At the same time, the first three matches have shown that one can’t read too much into the form guide in the fickle world of T20 cricket, where one fine spell of bowling or a cameo batting effort can flip the outcome quickly.

India and South Africa alternated between posting competitive totals and defending them easily in Cuttack and New Chandigarh.

For the hosts, there were quite a few positives to take home from the Dharamshala victory. The bowlers, who were sent on a leather hunt in the second encounter, found their bearings, especially Arshdeep Singh, to restrict the visitors to a paltry total.

Harshit Rana, who replaced Jasprit Bumrah, hit the ground running, giving early breakthroughs while Varun Chakaravarthy continued to bamboozle batters. Bumrah, who missed the previous game due to personal reasons, is likely to be available for this game.

Shivam Dube’s tight spell would have warmed the hearts of the management. If the all-rounder can chip in a few overs consistently, it will give the squad more depth and flexibility ahead of the T20 World Cup.

But concern persists over Suryakumar and Shubman Gill’s meagre returns. The skipper hasn’t scored a half-century in his last 21 visits to the crease, while that number is 18 for Gill.

The vice-captain, who made a comeback into the T20 set-up ahead of the Asia Cup, needs to strike form sooner rather than later, with Sanju Samson waiting in the wings. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter, who had three centuries as an opener last year, was shunted down the order to accommodate Gill and has been forced onto the sidelines despite reasonable performances in the middle-order as well.

Meanwhile, Aiden Markram’s men also have quite a few headaches to solve with their batting unit. In both defeats, the team lost half its line-up with the score reading 50 and 44.

If not for Markram’s fighting half-century in Dharamshala, South Africa might have been bundled out for less than 100 for the second time in the series.

Considering the pitch in Lucknow at the Ekana Stadium could be two-paced, the South African middle-order needs to find a way to tackle the Indian spinners if it hopes to push the series into a decider.

The teams (from): India: Suryakumar Yadav (Capt.), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Shahbaz Ahmed, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana and Washington Sundar.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (Capt.), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Donovan Ferreira (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Tristan Stubbs.

Match starts at 7 p.m.

Published – December 16, 2025 09:16 pm IST

Arshdeep Singh provided India with the early breakthrough.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

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