South Africa seek answers in Ahmedabad decider

The north Indian caravan of South Africa's tour of India came to an anti-climactic end in Lucknow, and the visitors are now travelling to the western part of the country to end their month-long tour, in Ahmedabad.

The abandoned game has stretched India's unbeaten series run in T20Is to 14, and South Africa have, at best, an opportunity to level the five-match series in the final game of the tour. The climate and playing conditions are likely to be different, but more important than the eventual result of the series is the opportunity for South Africa to test what could be their best XI (in the absence of Kagiso Rabada) in Indian conditions ahead of next year's World Cup.

If in the bargain they lose the game, it will be their 19th loss in 29 T20Is since the 2024 World Cup.

Much of South Africa's concerns in phase has been due to their inability to get strong starts. With Quinton de Kock taking a brief hiatus from Proteas colours, they were the worst performing side in Powerplays (among Full Member nations), averaging 20.21. Their scoring rate in this phase - 7.21 - hasn't been too impressive either. Even after de Kock returned, these issues haven't been put to rest in the series so far, with two top order collapses sealing their fate in Cuttack and Dharamsala.

Even as a victory would help level the series, and give them a much-needed sense and confidence in their build-up to the World Cup, there are plenty of other concerns to address.

Despite a plethora of options, they haven't narrowed down on who is best equipped to play the No. 5 role in the team, and what's the best bowling combination that wouldn't make their tail seem too long for their batters to play as freely as they wish.

They have made three changes in each of the two games played so far in this series. It's uncertain if they will continue to experiment in the last game as well, or try out what they believe is their best combination at this point for the final game. Either way, they would hope that some questions, if not all, find their answers before they fly out of India.

When: Friday, December 19, 2025, 7:00 PM IST

Where: India vs South Africa, 5th T20I, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What to expect: The domestic T20 matches that were played at the venue earlier this month, produced high scoring games. There might be some early assistance for the pacers, with dew also likely to play a part. But conditions would be much milder than what was witnessed in the last three games.

Team News

India: Shubman Gill, who was ruled out of the Lucknow T20I due to a toe injury, has travelled with the team to Ahmedabad. He could be available for the last game. Jasprit Bumrah is also likely to return.

Probable XI: Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakarvarthy

South Africa: This is the last chance for the visitors to trial out their experiments in Indian conditions ahead of the next T20 World Cup. The uncertainty over their best No.5 still looms

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

Did you know?

- South Africa featured in 13 bilateral series since Jan 2023, of which they have won just a solitary series - against Pakistan at home in Dec 2024.

- Shubman Gill's only T20I century has come in Ahmedabad.

- Abhishek Sharma is 47 runs away from surpassing Virat Kohli's 2016 record of 1614 runs - the most by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20 cricket.

What they said:

"Guys are jamming really well, getting along very well, and everyone knows their role in the team. And I think that's very important" - Anrich Nortje, South African pacer

"I was smart when I bowled, but I didn't know when, how and what to apply. As soon as Gautam (Gambhir) and Surya supported me and told me that I could do it, I put myself in that situation. I realised that I can bowl in challenging situations as well" - Shivam Dube, Indian all-rounder, on his development as a bowler.