Decisive Third T20I Showdown: South Africa vs India

South Africa won the toss, opting to field first against India in the crucial third T20I series match, setting the stage for an intense face-off. With both teams tied at 1-1, this game is pivotal before the final match in Johannesburg. India's debutant Ramandeep Singh enters the fray.

For the third consecutive time in the series, South Africa's captain Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to field against India in the third T20I in Centurion on Wednesday. Meanwhile, India's Hardik Pandya presented the debutant Ramandeep Singh with his first national team cap before the toss.

With the series delicately poised at 1-1 after two matches, the outcome of this third encounter is crucial as the victor takes a psychological edge heading into the final game in Johannesburg on Friday. After electing to bowl, Markram commented on their strategy, "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."

India's captain, Suryakumar Yadav, expressed confidence despite losing the toss, saying, "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." The expected players for South Africa are Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen(wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, and Lutho Sipamla, while representing India will be Sanju Samson(wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, and Varun Chakaravarthy.

(With inputs from agencies.)