Suryakumar Yadav. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: India and South Africa last met in a T20 international match during the T20 World Cup final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown on June 29.
The Proteas looked set for victory until Suryakumar Yadav made a superb catch at the boundary line to dismiss David Miller and turned the match around as India won the final by 7 runs.
And now, Suryakumar Yadav is set to lead India for a four-match series in South Africa starting November 8.
In the bilateral series, India played 9 T20I matches in South Africa and emerged victorious in 6 matches, having lost 3 matches and the T20 World Cup champions would look to continue their dominance in South Africa.
The T20I rivalry between India and South Africa has been an exciting part of international cricket, marked by high-stakes competitive matches.
Over the years, the two teams have always delivered close and hard-fought competitions, whether on South African soil or in India.
India played their first ever T20I match in South Africa against the Wanderers on 1 December 2006 and won the match by 6 wickets (with 1 ball remaining).
It was the only T20 played by the great Sachin Tendulkar in his illustrious career.
India’s victory over South Africa in the 2007 T20 World Cup was crucial, as India won the inaugural T20 championship.
Prolific South African batsman David Miller leads the points chart in the India-South Africa bilateral T20Is with 452 runs in 21 matches with a highest score of an unbeaten 106.
David Miller is followed by Indian stalwarts Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohlibut both opted out of the shortest format of the game.
India Bhuvneshwar Kumar is leading the charts when it comes to most wickets in the India-South Africa bilateral T20Is. The medium fast bowler took 14 wickets in 12 matches against South Africa in T20Is with best figures of 5/24.
In South Africa, Suryakumar Yadav played two T20Is with scores of 56 and 100 in December 2023.
This hundred from Surya, who was also captain at the time, which came in the third T20I of the series on December 14, 2023 in Johannesburg. It was the flamboyant batter’s fourth century in the shortest format of the game and propelled India to a 106-run victory as the 3-match series was drawn 1-1.
The rivalry demonstrated the adaptability of both teams, with South Africa performing well on Indian pitches, which are generally slower, and India showing resilience on the fast and bouncy South African tracks.
The India-South Africa T20I rivalry has produced several memorable matches that have kept fans in suspense, and it remains one of the most anticipated encounters in T20 cricket.