In the ongoing 5-match T20 series between India and South Africa, all three matches played so far have been one-sided. Team India won the first match by 101 runs and in the second match, South Africa made a comeback and won by 51 runs.

The Indian team counterattacked in Dharamshala and won the third match by 7 wickets with 25 balls remaining. Now the fourth match of the series is to be played at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Fans who are bored with one-sided matches are expecting a tough fight in this match. Read what kind of competition will be seen on the Lucknow pitch.

Lucknow pitch report

The black soil pitch of Ekana Stadium in Lucknow helps the spinners. It is the home ground of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). LSG here prepares slow pitches to trap the opposition teams in the trap of spin. But in the India-South Africa match, a balance can be seen between the bat and the bowler. That means, apart from the bowlers, the pitch will also be good for the batsmen.

Pacers can take advantage of seam movement initially. Spinners will also come into play after the initial overs. In Lucknow, it is important for the batsmen to play big shots after spending some time on the pitch. Talking about toss factor, there will be dew here at night. In such a situation, bowling first will be more beneficial.

Probable playing XI of both the teams

India – Abhishek Sharma, Shubhman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Arshdeep Singh.
 

South Africa – Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Dewald Brewis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Yanson, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Otniel Bartman.