Teams:

India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy

South Africa (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla

Suryakumar Kumar: It is okay. We have done well in the last two games while batting first. The boys have come out with clear plans and executing it, I have been really happy with that. Just be clear, go out and enjoy yourself. These boys have made my job easier. We have one change - Ramandeep makes his debut. Avesh has done well for us but one of the two bowlers had to make a sacrifice.

Aiden Markram: We are going to bowl first again. The wicket looks good. Not quite at our best. We are making slow progress. The bowlers did a good job in the last game. The batters need to spend time in the middle and not be too desperate. We have full trust in our batting unit and hope we do something special tonight.

South Africa have won the toss and have opted to field

Aiden Markram: We are going to bowl first again. The wicket looks good. Not quite at our best. We are making slow progress. The bowlers did a good job in the last game. The batters need to spend time in the middle and not be too desperate. We have full trust in our batting unit and hope we do something special tonight.

Pitch and Conditions: "There is a big rain storm that came last night and hope it stays away. Looks like a bit dry. A typical Centurion wicket will have a bit of sheen which is not there. The spinners will have a part to play. The batters enjoy batting here because of the bounce. The boundary size is pretty small; 59 and 64 meters square and 82 meters down the ground," inform Shaun Pollock and Ashwell Prince.

Update: VVS Laxman hands a cap to Hardik Pandya who in return hands it over to Ramandeep Singh. The all-rounder is going to make his debut.

"Hello from Centurion, where a hot morning has melted into a cloudy afternoon. A thunderstorm last night soaked the place, but the thirsty earth has swallowed every last drop" - greets Telford Vice from the venue.

16:00 Local Time, 14:00 GMT, 19:30 IST: The series is tied 1-1 as we welcome you to the third encounter. India won the first T20 in a comprehensive manner thanks to a hundred by Sanju Samson while South Africa clinched a low-scoring second T20. India have looked the better of the two sides even though the series is level and the reason for that is their bowling attack, especially the spinners - Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi. The pair have picked up 12 wickets between them in the two games and comfortably outbowled South Africa's spinners. They almost defended a partly total of 124 in the second game and were denied a victory by Tristan Stubbs. South Africa's batters have to come up with better plans to counter the Indian duo if they're to take the lead in the series. The winner of today's game will ensure they don't lose the series and that is a big incentive for the two teams. SKY has lost the toss in both games but he was happy to bat first in both. Will the flip of the coin go his way today? Or will it be 3 out of 3 for Markram? We shall find out soon..

Preview by Telford Vice

India were clear winners at Kingsmead on Friday. South Africa hung tough in a tight game at St George's Park on Sunday to level matters. What might Wednesday in Centurion bring? And Friday at the Wanderers?

For a men's T20I series that was short on context at the outset, the prospect of two more games is suddenly appealing. To avert a drawn rubber, another three would have been better. Indeed, CSA did ask the BCCI to play five matches. India countered that the series, postponed because of the pandemic, originally consisted of three games. So the boards compromised on four.

That means, of course, that whichever team wins on Wednesday can no longer lose the series. And that the best the losers can hope for is to square the series on Friday. It's a strange limbo not often encountered in modern white-ball cricket, but here we are.

India will want to return to the free-flowing batting that made them emphatic victors in Durban, and the likely conditions should aid them in that cause. Runs fly at 9.46 to the over in Centurion T20Is and at 8.66 at the Wanderers - or more frequently than Kingsmead's 8.42 and St George's Park's 7.60. But divide the number of balls bowled by the wickets taken at the four grounds, and you get 17.48 at the Wanderers, 17.05 in Centurion, 16.68 at St George's Park and 16.18 at Kingsmead.

The upshot is that while scoring is easier on the Highveld, so is getting batters out. The differences in the numbers are marginal, but South Africa's success on Sunday was in the balance until the business end of the game. Small things matter in cricket, and more so in the T20 version.

Neutrals will hope for matches closer to Sunday's than Friday's. For that to happen, the South Africans will have to bat better than they did in the first game. And for most of the second. Tristan Stubbs' 41-ball 47 not out, which was central to winning at St George's Park, is their highest score of the series. That said, India's next best effort after Sanju Samson's shimmering 107 off 50 at Kingsmead is Hardik Pandya's unbeaten 39 off 45 at St George's Park.

Varun Chakaravarthy's hauls of 3 for 25 and 5 for 17 - consecutive career-bests - make him the most dangerous bowler in the series, and he will be a handful again despite the different conditions. Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen look like the fast bowlers who could cause batters the most problems.

When: November 13 and 15, 2024; 5pm Local Time (8.30pm IST)

Where: SuperSport Park, Centurion and the Wanderers, Johannesburg

What to expect: Faster pitches and the ball flying further than in the first two games. Rain in the past few days has complicated preparations, but both match days should be unaffected by the weather.

Team news:

South Africa:

The finger injury Aiden Markram sustained in trying to take a catch offered by Hardik Pandya at St George's Park on Sunday will not keep him off the field. Lutho Sipamla comes into the squad for the last two games.

Possible XI: Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (C), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Andile Simelane, Lutho Sipamla

India:

Although they lost on Sunday, it's difficult to see how and why India might change their XI.

Possible XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakaravarthy,

What they said:

"Everyone in the team hates losing." - Marco Jansen on how South Africa turned around their performance at Kingsmead at St George's Park.

"We have played really well. The composure we showed after scoring only 124 for 6 on that [St George's Park] pitch and staying in the game till the 19th over was really commendable from the boys. In the first game, it was a proper all-round show by the whole team. Everyone chipped in with the scores and with the wickets as well." - Arshdeep Singh is happy with the way things are going.

Squads:

India Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Avesh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Ramandeep Singh, Yash Dayal

South Africa Squad: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter, Patrick Kruger, Mihlali Mpongwana, Donovan Ferreira, Ottneil Baartman