India vs South Africa 1st T20I LIVE SCORE: Focus on Shubman Gill's return as India start T20 World Cup 2026 push

India vs South Africa 1st T20I LIVE SCORE: After a highly-entertaining ODI series win, India begin their T20 World Cup 2026 push when the Men in Blue take on South Africa in the first T20I in Cuttack on Tuesday. The good news for India will be the return of Shubman Gill, who played just three balls in the first Test against South Africa before being ruled out of the remainder of the Test series and the ODIs, due to a neck injury.

Shubman Gill open the innings with Abhishek Sharma. The eye will also be on all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is returning to the side for the first time after Asia Cup 2025. On the other hand, Aiden Markram is back at the helm as captain for South Africa.

When and where to watch IND vs SA 1st T20I?

The first India vs South Africa T20I will be telecast live on Star Sports channels. Live streaming of India vs South Africa first T20I will be available on JioHostar app and website.

India vs South Africa 1st T20I predicted XIs

India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje