T20I series statistical preview: India's dominance over South Africa and chasing exploits

India takes on South Africa in first of three Twenty20 Internationals at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday. Surprisingly, this will be the first time these two teams will be meeting on Indian soil in the shortest format. India enjoys an overwhelming 6-2 advantage over South Africa in eight T20Is played between these two teams so far, posting the second best win/loss ratio of three against all opposition (for more than five matches). Six of those eight games have been won by sides batting first.

This will be first T20I at Dharamsala, even though it has hosted a few IPL games in the past. In fact, all 10 previous T20Is in India have been played on different grounds.

South Africa may have had a mixed record in the shortest format of the game since the start of the year, having won four and lost three of seven T20Is, but the Proteas can take solace from the fact that they have won four of their last five T20Is, while India has played just two in which the team managed to draw the series against Zimbabwe. There’s also the fact that India hasn’t been at its best at home, having won five and lost five of their 10 matches.

When it comes to captaincy record, there isn’t much to choose between MS Dhoni and Faf du Plessis.

Scoring more runs at a faster rate than the opponent is the success mantra in this format and South Africa and India are the two best sides according to this parameter. The table below shows the batting and bowling performances of top teams in T20Is, with South Africa and India occupying first two places:

When it comes to chasing in T20Is, India has the highest win percentage. Of 27 occasions when India batted second, it won 16 times — a win percentage of 59.25. South Africa has the second-best win percentage — 55.88 percent while chasing.

When it comes to defending the target, Sri Lanka takes the top slot just ahead of Pakistan. South Africa is in third place with a win percentage of 60.87 while batting first, and India is one place below with 53.57 percent.

Squads: