Haze, dew and a fresh test awaits India, South Africa in Mullanpur

Mullanpur is set to host its maiden men's international cricket match. There's a December chill in the air, with the finalists of the last T20 World Cup facing off. What's to be expected from Punjab's latest international venue remains unclear, much like Chandigarh's hazy air.

The venue hosted thrilling contests in this year's IPL, offering a wide spectrum: teams piled up 200-plus totals and played out low-scoring thrillers. After a surprise test from Cuttack's surface, another mystery awaits India and South Africa on Thursday.

While the result holds little consequence, preparation for next year's World Cup—likely on high-scoring surfaces—faces another test. Batters must adapt, and with hazy air and expected dew, fielders, especially in the second innings, will be sternly tested.

Amid combinations to test and new plans to trial, some concerns need addressing for both teams.

For India, despite Hardik Pandya's fine knock on his return and batting depth proving its worth in Cuttack, another poor outing for Suryakumar Yadav would be hard to ignore. The series started with another forgettable game for the Indian captain. While conditions in the opener offer some excuse, his lengthy slump is concerning: he averages 15.07 in 16 T20Is this year, with an unflattering strike rate.

A critical cog in India's plans, Suryakumar's return to form is keenly awaited. The team hopes to find answers as early as Thursday.

When: Thursday, December 11, 2025, 7:00 PM IST
Where: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh
What to expect: Fog, dew, and some advantage to the chasing team—though four of six IPL matches here were won by the team batting first.

India: No reported injuries; scope to experiment.
Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa: Likely to retain their combination to acclimatize to conditions.
Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi

Key Stats:

• Hardik Pandya is one wicket away from becoming India's third men's bowler with 100 T20I wickets, after Arshdeep Singh (107) and Jasprit Bumrah (101).
• Achieving this would make Pandya the first seamer with 1000+ runs and 100+ wickets in men's T20Is. Three spin all-rounders—Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, and Sikandar Raza—have done so previously.

Quotes:

• Aiden Markram: "Nowadays in T20 cricket, there's not much time to look around and absorb… We'll have brief conversations tomorrow. You don't want to dive too deep into things like this. You almost just want to draw a line through it and stick to the positive ways of this format."
• Suryakumar Yadav: "With 7-8 batters, there will be days when 2-3 batters won't have their day, but then the other 4 batters will cover it up… Maybe in the next game you'll see someone else covering it up. That's how T20 cricket goes, and that's how we want everyone to play. We want everyone to be fearless and enjoy their batting."