South Africa vs India Fourth T20I: Best Bets & Prediction

India and South Africa are set to clash in the fourth and final T20I at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. With India edging out a thrilling victory at SuperSport Park in Centurion, they now lead the four-match series 2-1 and have the opportunity to seal the series with a win. Here are the best bets and prediction for this decisive encounter.

Venue: Wanderers Stadium

Betting Preview

The Proteas continue their inconsistent run, alternating between wins and losses without fully hitting their stride. After a heavy 61-run defeat in Durban and a three-wicket win in Gqeberha, they stumbled at SuperSport Park, losing by 17 runs.

Captain Aiden Markram opted to bowl first, but India’s Tilak Varma shone with a brilliant 107*, propelling his team to 219/6 — the sixth-highest T20I total at the venue. Keshav Maharaj (2-36) and Andile Simelane (2-34) picked up two wickets each, while Marco Jansen (7.00 rpo) was the most economical bowler. Despite flashes of promise, the bowling unit struggled to contain India’s aggressive batting.

In the chase, all seven top-order batters made starts but failed to convert. Heinrich Klaasen showed glimpses of form with a quickfire 41 off 22 balls, while Jansen smashed a maiden T20I fifty (54 off 16 balls) to inject some late excitement. However, South Africa fell short, making it seven defeats in their last nine games and extending their winless bilateral series streak to eight if they lose on Friday.

For India, Tilak Varma’s maiden T20I hundred and Abhishek Sharma’s return to form (37) set the tone. Their aggressive batting pushed the total 39 runs above the venue’s average first-innings score of 180. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh led the attack with 3-37, while Axar Patel (1-29) bowled tightly after limited opportunities in previous games. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy extended his series tally to 10 wickets but leaked 52 runs in his four overs.

Injuries were a concern for India, with Tilak Varma checked for concussion after a boundary-line mishap and Axar Patel sustaining a hand injury while fielding. Both continued to play and are expected to be available for the next match.

South Africa could be upbeat to make a comeback and win the decider, but India’s form will keep them a notch ahead in the final T20I. Back India to win at 1.68.

Players to Watch: The proverbial wheels seemed to have fallen off the veteran of 128 T20I matches David Miller who owns an overall average of 32.53 with an HS of 106. He has had a dreadful series so far aggregating just 36 runs (ave-12) with a HS of 18. The same can be said for India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav who averages 40.79 across the 77 matches he has played with a highest of 11. In this series, he has scored just 26 runs with a best of 21 (ave-8.66).

Key Stats

Six of the last eight T20I matches played at this venue were won by the team batting first.

Six of the last eight T20I matches played at this venue were won by the team batting first.

Varun Chakravarthy has dismissed Reeza Hendricks twice in this series for just five runs.

The last time these two sides met at the Wanderers back in December 2023 India won by a huge 106 runs. Suryakumar Yadav made 100 as India made 201 then India bowled South Africa out for 95 with Kuldeep Yadav taking a five-fa.

India’s southpaw strike bowler Arshdeep Singh has claimed a wicket in each of his last eight innings.

Best Bets

Prediction: India to win at 1.68.

Best Bet: Highest individual score to be over 71.5 at 1.86.

Alternative Bet: Varun Chakravarthy to be India’s top bowler at 3.50.