IND vs SA 1st T20 Barabati Stadium Pitch Report: India will begin their preparations for the 2026 World Cup, which is a little over 2 months away, when they face South Africa. This will be a repeat of the 2024 T20 World Cup final where India defeated the Proteas and ended their long ICC trophy draw.

Since then, there has been a major change in the team as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja all retired from the format after the World Cup win and Suryakumar Yadav took over the captaincy. Since being promoted, SKY has been very successful, leading India to an undefeated Asia Cup in September and also posting an impressive record in bilateral series. South Africa did not have good luck in bilateral matches, meanwhile it had to lose series against Australia, Pakistan and West Indies.