South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss for the third consecutive time in the series and opted to field first in the third T20I against India in Centurion on Wednesday. Before the toss, Hardik Pandya handed the India cap to the debutant Ramandeep Singh. After the first two T20Is, the series stands level at 1-1. The winner in the third T20I will certainly have an edge over the opposition before heading to play the final match of the series on Friday in Johannesburg.
After winning the toss, South Africa captain Aiden Markram said, "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 skipper Suryakumar Yadav said during the time of the toss, "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."
South Africa (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen(wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy.