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This is also South Africa's 5th successcive defeat in Durban in T20Is; the most back-to-back defeats for them at a venue in the format.

Most victories in T20Is in a Calendar year: 29 - Uganda in 2023 (Win% 87.9) 28 - India in 2022 (Win% 70.0) 22 - India in 2024 (Win% 95.6)* 21 - Tanzania in 2022 (Win% 72.4)

12:23 AM IST & 8:53 PM Local Time: Time for the post-match presentation...

Longest Six of the Match: Ryan Rickelton (104m)

Sanju Samson (POTM): "Yeah, I think I am enjoying my time in the middle. I have been playing well, so maximum utilise of this current form, you can say. I think it is always the intent. We have been talking about, playing aggressive and keeping the team on the front. You have to look for the boundary shots, sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. It was very crucial, South Africa are a gun side at home. We are really happy to start the series like this."

Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain): "Not so much about the toss. The new ball did a little bit. There was a bit of bounce and a nibble of the wicket, and it was consistent in the two innings. Once the new ball wore off, it was a really good wicket. Our point of view goes towards the batting. We could have done better there. We wanted to get off to a better start and that is where we lost the game. Sanju Samson played incredibly well and put our bowlers under pressure. We have plans to negate him, and better plans will help us going forward. Once he strikes like that, it's pretty hard to stop, and you take your hat off for him. We had a couple of meetings with those who were bowling the death overs. We are incredibly proud of the two (Jansen and Coetzee) who bowled those overs today, and it is a really big positive for us tonight. Nice to get it right. From an individual point of view they will understand where they can get better and then meet as a batting and bowling group, you don't fix it in the nets, it's more about an approach and tactical point of view."

Suryakumar Yadav (India Captain): "Is it, I didn't know about that. (On India's unbeaten record at Kingsmead) Good thing, we have been playing the same brand of cricket. Haven't changed much, happy with the win. (on Sanju Samson) He has worked hard over the years and is reaping the fruits of that. Even when he was in 90s, was looking to hit the big shots. Keeping the team in front so nice to have him in the team. Yeah, that was the plan. We were looking for the crucial wickets of Klaasen and Miller and the way they delivered, both the spinners, it was incredible. (on captaincy) Yeah, it is looking easy (chuckles). As I said in the PC. These guys have made my job easier. I don't need to carry any baggage, the boys are enjoying themselves on and off the field, which makes my job easier. The brand of cricket we play, even though we lose a few wickets, we want to play without fear, it's a T20 game and if you can score 200 in 17 overs, why not (chuckles)."

That is the end of our live coverage of the series opener. India dominate the show at Kingsmead and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. Plenty of matches come our way and stay tuned on our network for the live coverages. For now, it is me AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Ajay Pal Singh and scorer/analyst Raju Khariya, who brought you all the live action of this cracking fixture. We will meet again. Until then, it's cheers.