India and South Africa will lock horns in the fourth T20I on Wednesday in Lucknow, with the five-match series clearly leaning in India's favour. After three games, India hold the upper hand, and a win in Lucknow would hand them an unassailable lead, technically sealing the series. For South Africa, a defeat would end their hopes, making this a must-win encounter. South Africa’s biggest concern so far has been their inconsistent batting.
Across the three matches, South Africa have been undermined by collective collapses and a lack of sustained partnerships. There have been individual performances; however, the team has struggled to build momentum. Meanwhile, to stay alive in the series, the visitors will need to fight back, expecting the top order, where early wickets have put them on the back foot, to perform well.
India, meanwhile, will take confidence from their recent form. Moreover, their record at this ground is incredible. India have played three T20Is in Lucknow and remain unbeaten. India are likely to stick with the XI that delivered success in Dharamshala. Notably, Axar Patel has been ruled out of the series due to illness.
Head-to-head
Matches - 34
IND won - 20
SA won - 13
No result - 1
India possible XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
South Africa possible XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman