A severe weather with daily highs over 45 degrees greeted South Africa when they last visited New Delhi in June for the T20I series' opening match. In October, the Proteas will return to New Delhi to play India in the decisive ODI of the series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
But this time, in addition to the potential for a shortened game, the prospect of rain will hang over the series finale instead of the oppressive heat. In the first ten days of the current month, the national capital of India received 121.7 mm of rain, flooding the roadways and causing mayhem in the traffic.
Although Tuesday's weather forecast calls for less scattered rain and more sunlight, the ground has been saturated for the past 72 hours due to heavy rain, so one may anticipate a pitch that will have some moisture in it to help the fast bowlers.
Many cricket fans have been anxiously checking weather apps and fervently praying to God for Tuesday's match to go off without a hitch after India's decisive seven-wicket victory over South Africa in Ranchi set the scenario for a winner-takes-all contest in New Delhi.
For India, a victory will maintain their winning streak in the ODI format, which they started after coincidentally losing a three-match series in South Africa earlier in the year. This will be New Delhi's first ODI match in three years.
Even if skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill haven't yet made any significant contributions, the ODI series against South Africa served as a reminder of the calibre and depth of Indian white-ball players.
It was Iyer, Ishan Kishan, and Mohammed Siraj's turn to lead India to a series-leveling victory after Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, and Shardul Thakur shone brightly in Lucknow despite the tight nine-run loss.
Iyer has been particularly noteworthy this year with to his performance in ODIs, scoring 458 runs in nine innings at an average of 57.25. He scored runs against the West Indies in Ahmedabad and the Caribbean, looked sharp during his counterattacking fifty in Lucknow, and then scored an amazing 113 runs without being out in Ranchi against South Africa.
Iyer has established himself as a strong candidate for middle-order positions ahead of the ODI World Cup in India in 2019. This is regardless of how he performs in New Delhi, where he won his first international cap in 2017.
India made up for their errors from Lucknow with the ball by restricting the South African run-flow in the latter stages of the innings. Despite Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks scoring in the seventies, India's bowling attack—especially Siraj, who had a brilliant 3/38—perfectly executed slower balls and straighter lines.
India only conceded 57 runs in the final ten overs as a result. In Ranchi, spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Shahbaz Ahmed made an impression while challenging South Africa's batters.
On the other hand, South Africa desperately needs a victory on Tuesday to get back on track for direct qualification to the ODI World Cup in 2019. A tight victory in Lucknow gave them the necessary 10 points, but a defeat in Ranchi, where dew made it difficult for them to defend 278 points, put them back on the path to direct qualifying.
South Africa, which is currently in 11th place in the Super League points standings, will try to end their tour of India with a victory and collect those vital 10 points before departing for Australia to concentrate on their Men's T20 World Cup campaign.
Apart from David Miller, who is in the best shape of his life, and Heinrich Klaasen, who can hit home runs, the runs produced by Markram and Hendricks will give the visitors hope. South Africa will be hoping that Temba Bavuma, who missed Sunday's game in Ranchi due to injury, can play in New Delhi and accumulate some crucial runs before the T20 World Cup, assuming the weather stays away.
Squads
India: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi.