India strive for fearless cricket in SA T20 series

With the next T20 World Cup just six months away, the visitors will be hoping to find some answers 

- Shantanu Srivastava

T20 cricket in South Africa does evoke fond memories for India, for it was here that MS Dhoni's team won the inaugural T20 World Cup 16 years ago. The win gave the Indian Premier League, still six months away from its inaugural edition, the necessary wings, and cricket was never the same again. As India find themselves on South African shores again - the first T20I will be played in Durban on Saturday they are looking to unlock the ever-evolving T20 puzzle despite being armed with youngsters bred on IPL's ethos.

At stake is a three-match series, but the Suryakumar Yadav-led team will hope to find some answers with the next T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States only six months away. India go into this series on the back of a 4-1 win over Australia. 

While it is easy to put that result to the absence of a number of Australia's first-choice players after the 50-over World Cup victory, it is worth noting that India fielded a raw side of their own. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad gave a good account of themselves, regularly giving India blazing starts. Jaiswal did his growing reputation no harm, logging the best strike rate among Indian batters (168.29) who took guard in all five matches. Gaikwad, his opening partner, topped the scoring charts with 223 runs including a ton, hitting most fours and sixes by any batter across both sides.