What happened the last time India played a T20I in Visakhapatnam?

After the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023, the caravan now moves to the shortest format as Team India gears up to take on Australia in a five-match home T20I series. The opening T20I is scheduled to take place at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam on Thursday, November 23.

India has played only three T20Is at the venue so far, winning two and losing the other.

Situated in the southeast coastal region of the country, the pitch in Visakhapatnam is generally good for batting but also aids slow bowlers. Weather, though, could play spoilsport as there might be overcast conditions.

The last time India played a T20I in Vizag was in June 2022. The ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium hosted the third of a five-match T20I series against South Africa, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

After being put to bat first, India got off to a great start. The openers shared a partnership of 97 runs in 10 overs for the first wicket. Ruturaj Gaikwad, in particular, was mighty impressive as he utilized the powerplay restrictions with full effect.

He scored 57 off just 35 balls, including seven fours and a couple of sixes. Ishan Kishan (54), meanwhile, played a second fiddle but both the openers got out just after their respective fifties. The momentum was lost when both Shreyas Iyer (14) and Rishabh Pant (6) also lost their wickets in quick succession.

Hardik Pandya, however, tried his best and made sure India set a target of 180 in the second innings. The South African bowlers bowled remarkably well in the death overs, giving away just 51 runs off the last seven overs.

In reply, the Temba Bavuma-led side never got going. While Axar Patel sent back the South African skipper, Harshal Patel took the other opener in Reeza Hendricks (23).

Yuzvendra Chahal, who was enduring a poor run of games, roared back in style as he decimated the middle order with his guile. He accounted for the wickets of Rassie van der Dussen (1) and Dwaine Pretorius (20) in back-to-back overs before Harshal trumped David Miller (3) with a slower ball.

Chahal provided the killer blow in his last over as he dismissed Heinrich Klaasen (29) to end his spell with 3/20. Harshal also returned with his career-best figures of 4/25 as India bundled out South Africa for 131 to win the game by 48 runs.

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India's journey for the T20 World Cup 2024 starts from the T20I series vs Australia

Suryakumar Yadav - the Indian T20I captain for the series vs Australia [Getty Images]

Following the recently concluded 2023 ODI World Cup, the next biggest marquee event will be the T20 World Cup 2024, which will be hosted by the USA and West Indies.

India, who are in a desperate hunt for an ICC trophy, will begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024 with the upcoming T20I series against Australia.

With the biennial tournament only seven months away, India would hope that the selected players perform according to the roles given to them in the absence of several senior players.

Following the five-match series against Australia, the Men in Blue don't have many T20I matches lined up until the T20 World Cup 2024. India will feature in a three-match T20I series away from home against South Africa later this year before hosting Afghanistan for three more games in January 2024.