10.15 pm: Rahul hits a six to finish the match and remain unbeaten on 51 off 56. Suryakumar returns not out on 50 off 33.

INDIA WIN BY 8 WICKETS WITH 20 BALLS TO SPARE

IND 104/2 (16.3 overs): FIFTY off 33 balls for Suryakumar Yadav! His second successive half-century.

IND 101/2 (16 overs): Two glorious drives by Surya and he picks up two more fours. Ten runs come from that Rabada over and India now need 6 off 24.

IND 91/2 (15 overs): Poor bowling by Nortje and the Indian batters say thank you very much. The right-arm pacer bowls a full toss and gets hit by Rahul for six, before bowling another full toss and getting hit by Surya for four. India now need 16 off 30.

IND 80/2 (14 overs): Parnell returns to the attack and bowls a tight over, three runs from it.

IND 77/2 (13 overs): Shot! Maharaj tosses it up and Surya drives it over long-off for six. India now need 30 off 42. Surya is batting on 34 off 23, Rahul on 34 off 44.

IND 66/2 (12 overs): Shamsi drops it way short and Rahul pulls it for six. Surya then ends the over with a delightful, powerful flick for four.

IND 53/2 (11 overs): Shot! Maharaj bowls it slightly short and Surya cuts it in the gap for four. Six runs come from that over.

IND 47/2 (10 overs): Six! Rahul has hit a six! He got a reprieve earlier in the over as Nortje dropped a tough return catch, but this time he finds the middle of the bat.

De Kock is getting some treatment on his finger. He looks in pain, had taken a blow earlier too. This is not what SA need with the World Cup coming up.

IND 38/2 (9 overs): Good start from Maharaj too, just three runs come from his first over. Rahul has moved on to 14 off 31. Hard to imagine a world where this is acceptable.

IND 34/2 (8 overs): Shamsi joins the attack and concedes five runs in his first over. SA are going with spin from both ends as Maharaj is coming on to bowl.

IND 29/2 (7 overs): What an eventful over! Surya gets a top edge for six over third man before playing a sensational flick shot for another six. South Africa then lose their second review too hoping to get Surya out LBW. The replay showed a thick inside edge.

IND 17/2 (6.1 overs): OUT! Nortje strikes with his first ball! Kohli slashes half-heartedly and edges it to QdK, he departs for 3 off 9 leaving India in a spot of bother. The new batter is Suryakumar.

IND 17/1 (6 overs): South Africa have done well in the powerplay and made things more interesting than they were at the interval. Rahul has moved on to 11 off 26.

IND 16/1 (5 overs): Rahul survives another review after picking four with an outside edge. The end of another fiery over from Rabada.

IND 12/1 (4 overs): Rahul plays five dots before picking a single. He’s batting on 7 off 18 now. One wonders if it’s at all frustrating for the team management. The right-hander has shown no intent to look for a boundary.

IND 9/1 (2.2 overs): OUT! Rohit is gone for a two-ball duck. Rabada gets the outside edge and QdK takes a superb one-handed catch.

IND 9/0 (2 overs): Parnell gets clipped by Rahul for four before striking the right-hander on the front pad. South Africa take a review and it goes India’s way.

IND 0/0 (1 over): Rabada starts off with a maiden over to Rahul, hardly a surprise there.

8.50 pm: We’re ready for the chase! Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are at the crease, Kagiso Rabada has the new ball in hand. India will be hoping for a comfortable chase. Here we go!

8.39 pm: Harshal concedes six runs and takes a wicket in the last over to finish with 2/26 from his four overs. This is a decent recovery from SA after being 9/5 after 2.3 overs. India, though, will be confident of chasing this down.

SOUTH AFRICA FINISH WITH 106/8

SA 101/8 (19.1 overs): OUT! Harshal nails a slower yorker and Maharah is clean bowled. The right-hander walks back after a gritty 41 off 35. The new batter is Norje.

SA 100/7 (19 overs): Maharaj hits Arshdeep for two fours and a six! Just what SA needed. Arsh finishes with figures of 3/32 from his four overs.

SA 83/7 (18 overs): Axar bowls another tidy over and finishes with figures of 1/16 from his four overs. South Africa need to swing hard in the last two overs.

SA 79/7 (17 overs): Another boundary for Maharaj as he picks a slower ball from Harshal and flicks it for four. Seven runs come from that over.

SA 68/7 (15.5 overs): OUT! Parnell pulls one for four but then finds Suryakumar at deep mid-wicket. Axar gets his first wicket as the left-hander departs for 24 off 37. The new batter is Rabada.

SA 63/6 (15 overs): The end of a superb spell by Ashwin, he returns with figures of 0/8 from his four overs. Last five overs coming up, the Proteas will be hoping to get close to 100 somehow.

SA 61/6 (14 overs): Another top over from Axar, just two runs from it. The SA batters aren’t taking any risk against the Indian spinners.

SA 59/6 (13 overs): Six! Chahar returns to the attack and drops one short, Maharaj maintains a nice balance and pulls it all the way. Nine runs from that over, the most expensive so far.

SA 50/6 (12 overs): Axar joins the attack and concedes just one run in his first over. This is a stern test for Parnell and Maharaj and they’re doing well to survive.

SA 49/6 (11 overs): Ashwin is in the middle of a masterful spell. After a maiden over, he now concedes just a single in his third over. The off-spinner is swinging the ball and turning it both ways.

SA 48/6 (10 overs): Harshal errs in his line a bit and Maharaj flicks it nicely past square-leg for four. Much-needed boundary for South Africa as they get to the halfway stage of their innings in all sorts of trouble.

SA 42/6 (9 overs): Another fine over by Ashwin, he bowls a maiden this time. The off spinner is mixing it up smartly and troubling the left-handed Parnell.

SA 42/6 (8 overs): OUT! This time India are spot-on with DRS. Markram pulls one for six but Harshal fights back by striking the right-hander in front. The umpire says not out but the reviews shows three reds. Markram walks back for 25 off 24 as Maharaj comes to the crease.

SA 35/5 (7 overs): First bowling change by India as Ashwin joins the attack. Good start by the off-spinner, just five runs come from his first over.

SA 30/5 (6 overs): Arshdeep beats Markram’s outside edge and Rohit takes a review after being convinced by Kohli and Surya, but DRS shows no spike. The end of a memorable powerplay for India.

SA 26/5 (5 overs): Parnell hits the first six of the match after another impressive over of swing bowling by Chahar. South Africa need a lot more of such shots.

SA 18/5 (4 overs): Markram gets the third four of his innings, he’s looked good so far. But Arshdeep does well to bowl five dots in that over. The left-arm pacer is moving it both ways and finding his mark consistently.

SA 9/5 (2.3 overs): OUT! What. Is. Happening?! Now Stubbs is gone for a first-ball duck. Chahar gets his second wicket as the right-hander slashes it to Arshdeep at third man. The new batter is Parnell.

SA 8/4 (2 overs): OUT! Arshdeep Singh gets his third wicket of the over! This time he swings it into the left-hander and Miller is clean bowled for a first-ball duck. Three ducks so far for the Proteas, they’re in massive trouble.

SA 8/3 (1.5 overs): OUT! It’s gone from bad to worse for the Proteas. Arshdeep gets his second wicket of the over as Rossouw departs for a first-ball duck. The left-hander attempts a drive through cover without any foot movement and edges it to Pant. There’s plenty of swing on offer at the moment. The new batter is Miller.

SA 1/2 (1.2 overs): OUT! De Kock is gone too! Arshdeep strikes with his second delivery as the left-hander chops it on. De Kock walks back for 1 off 4 and the Proteas are in trouble. They have Rossouw and Markram at the crease now.

SA 1/1 (1 over): OUT! Excellent bowling from Chahar as he cleans up Bavuma for a four-ball duck. The right-arm pacer bowls a couple of out-swingers before bringing one back in to rattle the stumps.

7.00 pm: The national anthems are done and we’re ready for play. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma are opening the batting for South Africa, Deepak Chahar has the new ball in hand for India. Here we go!

Playing XIs

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (w), Temba Bavuma (c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (w), Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.

Update from BCCI: “Jasprit Bumrah complained of back pain during India’s practice session on Tuesday. The BCCI Medical Team assessed him. He is ruled out of the first T20I.”

Changes for Team India: Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant come in for Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Jasprit Bumrah has a niggle and Yuzvendra Chahal has been rested, Deepak Chahar and R Ashwin come in.

TOSS: Rohit Sharma has won the toss and opted to field first.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first T20 International between India and South Africa in Thiruvananthapuram.

It’s the final stage of preparations ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. For the second time in 2022, the South African men’s team are in India for a T20I series. The Proteas have had a good recent record against India, and they’d offer another challenging test for Rohit Sharma’s men as the three-match series begins in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. India will be upbeat after their series win against world champions Australia and will be eyeing a strong start against Temba Bavuma and Co.

Squads

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (w), Temba Bavuma (c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorius, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reeza Hendricks, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Heinrich Klaasen.

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (w), Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy bcci.tv / Disney+Hotstar