Rain ruined the first Twenty20 International between Team India and South Africa on Sunday (December 10) at Kingsmead in Durban. The second T20I of the three-match series will be played on Tuesday (December 12) at Gqeberha’s St George’s Park.
After losing to Australia in the 2023 World Cup final, Men in Blue bounced back quickly, winning their five-match Twenty20 International series. For the series, veteran players Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli were rested.
In their absence, periphery players such as Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rinku Singh played admirably and vied for a spot in the World Cup team. They will get another opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in the South Africa T20I series, after veteran players chose to rest for the white-ball part of the trip.
The opening T20I of the series was called off owing to severe rain on Sunday in Durban, disappointing fans. They conveyed their displeasure in a unique way by posting amusing memes about the situation.
Here are some of our top memes from the first T20 between South Africa and India:
Suryakumar Yadav feels about the limited T20s before 2024 World Cup
Suryakumar Yadav, Team India’s stand-in skipper, recently remarked that the restricted amount of T20I matches before the World Cup will not affect their preparations because the players will receive enough practice from the IPL. Suryakumar stated during a news conference prior to the South Africa series:
“I feel there are limited T20s going forward, before the T20 World Cup, but then we play 14 league games in the IPL as well. And players who have been playing in these T20 internationals… they’ve played a lot of games, and they have a lot of experience under their belt.”
Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar remarked about role clarity in the current setup:
“The number Rinku and Jitesh have been batting at, at the IPL and for their state teams, is the same number they are being given an opportunity here. And they are being told to do the same thing they do for their states and their franchises; [it’s] nothing different. That’s what they have done too.”
Suryakumar Yadav
The just finished five-match series saw Australia defeated 4-1 by skipper Suryakumar Yadav of India, earning him his first series victory.