AHMEDABAD: First off, it looks like Friday night’s fifth and final T20I between India and South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium will go ahead without any fog or smog interruption! After being denied action in Lucknow on Wednesday – where the fourth T20I was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to excessive fog – the home fans will be hoping the Men in Blue end the tough tour of South Africa on a winning note.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!No wonder the world’s largest cricket stadium is expected to be near capacity. “Around 78,000 tickets have already been sold and we expect a crowd of close to 80,000. The main reason is that the series is still technically alive – it can end 2-2 if South Africa wins or 3-1 if India does,” a Gujarat Cricket Association official told TOI on Thursday.
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Credit must be given to this spirited South African side, who have been testing India across formats for almost a month, for generating genuine interest in the bilateral series. Usually dominant at home in white-ball cricket, India were forced to raise their game against the gritty South Africans.With captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill both enduring long lean runs – Gill also ruled out of the last two T20Is due to a toe injury sustained in Lucknow – India have a few chinks in their armor and some tough selections loom ahead of the T20 World Cup in February-March 2026.
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After bouncing back from a humiliating 2-0 Test series defeat, India clinched the ODI series on the back of a blistering batting performance by Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. With the exit in Lucknow, the hosts now hold an elusive 2-1 lead in the T20I series.While the certainty of not losing the series offers some consolation with the home World Cup less than two months away, head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar would certainly prefer a morale-boosting series win. India are also slightly depleted, with Gill and Axar Patel (viral fever) unavailable for the last two games. TOI has learned that Gill did not suffer a fracture. “It’s a bad contusion to the midfoot joint where he was hit by a deflected ball,” the source said.Friday’s match offers Surya – once the world number one in T20Is – a last chance to rediscover his touch before opting out in 2025. The 35-year-old has had a tough year, scoring just 213 runs in 20 matches at an average of 14.20 without a single fifty. Another failure could intensify the scrutiny and beg the question: will India stick to their ‘plan’ if Surya and Gill’s form does not improve?Gill’s absence gave Sanju Samson a rare opportunity to open the T20Is again. A strong showing would increase the pressure on the Indian Test and ODI captain to retain his place in the T20I set-up. Since being relegated to No.5, Samson has struggled, scoring 138 runs in eight matches at an average of 23. In contrast, all three of his T20I centuries and one fifty have come as an opener, where he has formed a productive partnership with Abhishek Sharma – a combination that has helped India win 14 out of 17 matches.In the bowling department, enigmatic spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been India’s standout performer, taking six wickets at an average of 9.83 in three matches. Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the third T20I due to personal reasons but has since rejoined the team, will be looking to bounce back after conceding 45 runs in four overs at New Chandigarh.South Africa, meanwhile, will look to end the tour on a high by spoiling India’s party and forcing a 2-2 draw. They will need more from young dasher Dewald Brevis (38 runs in three matches at 12.66), all-rounder Marc Jansen (14 runs in three matches at 7.00) and opener Reezy Hendricks (scores of 8 and 0), all of whom have struggled so far.
