India, South Africa embrace discomfort in World Cup lead-up

Two games into their T20I series, both India and South Africa find themselves in an ideal state of productive unease ahead of next year's T20 World Cup. With a win and a loss each, the series has provided a necessary reality check while affirming their status as top contenders.

India have used these matches to experiment. Key changes include promoting Axar Patel in the batting order, giving opportunities to Jitesh Sharma in the lower middle order, and deploying Hardik Pandya to bowl in the middle overs while frontline pacers handle the powerplay and death. Results have been mixed, but with limited preparation time, the team faces audacious decisions on whether to persist. The concerning form of both the captain and vice-captain adds urgency to finalizing plans.

Key questions remain for India:

• Will Sanju Samson return to the XI, potentially as an opener again?
• Will they revert to a three-spinner strategy at the expense of a pacer like Arshdeep Singh?

The surface in Dharamsala for the third T20I may not favor the three-spinner tactic, but India have relied on their spin strength even in less-friendly conditions recently.

South Africa, too, are far from settled. Their victory in Chandigarh and Quinton de Kock's return to form were validations, but issues persist. Their batting lacks lower-order power, their best combination is untested, and their ideal pace attack remains unclear.

Neither team will find all their answers immediately, but both will hope the final match in Dharamsala helps sharpen their plans for the World Cup.

Match Details:

• When: Sunday, December 14, 2025, 7:00 PM IST
• Where: HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
• What to expect: The venue hasn't hosted a men's international in over two years. In recent IPL matches, teams have consistently scored 180-plus.

Team Previews & Probable XIs:

India: With experiments ongoing, India may give game time to benched players.

• Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa: Tristan Stubbs, who was rested last game, could return.

• Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje/Corbin Bosch, Ottneil Baartman, Lungi Ngidi

Key Stats & Milestones:

• Since the last T20I in 2022, Dharamsala has hosted 5 IPL games; the team batting first won four.
• Suryakumar Yadav has eight single-digit scores in T20Is this year.
• Hardik Pandya needs one more wicket for 100 in T20Is.
• Dewald Brevis needs four sixes to reach 100 T20 sixes in 2025, which would make him the second South African (after Heinrich Klaasen) to do so in a calendar year.

Quotes:

"Towards the back end of the Australian tour, there were talks about freeing up a little bit… We want him to play as freely as he does during the IPL" – Ryan ten Doeschate, India's assistant coach, on Shubman Gill

"It's never easy. As a player, you want three or four games on the run… Making sure we have our best available XI for the World Cup is obviously the number one priority" – Aiden Markram, South Africa's captain, on player rotation