South Africa vs. West Indies, World T20: Date, Time, Live Stream and TV Info

After the frantic wickets of Mumbai, South Africa will probably be quietly pleased to find themselves on a more subdued track, especially against a West Indies team packed full of big-hitters.

Venue: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

Date: Friday, March 25

Start time: 7:30 p.m local time (2 p.m. GMT)

Live on: Channel 9 and Fox Sports (Australia), Ariana TV Network (Afghanistan), BTV (Bangladesh), ESPN Star and Star Sports (India), Sky Sport NZ (New Zealand), Sky Sports 2 (United Kingdom), Willow TV (USA and Canada), PTV Sports and Ten Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), OSN Sports (Middle East)

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, the weather should be all-clear with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius in the middle of the day. With it being a day game, there will be no dew to contend with.

Overview

What happens when two big-hitting teams meet on a slow and turning track? Well, we’ll find out on Friday when the West Indies and South Africa square off in Nagpur. It’s hard to pick a team that’s a favourite for this clash as both sides have had their ups and downs.

Chris Gayle blew England away in the first fixture, while Andre Fletcher stepped up to open and do the same against Sri Lanka in Gayle's absence.

In both cases, there was little or no support for either Gayle or Fletcher obliterating the bowlers, though. Against England, just one other player passed the 25-run mark and, against Sri Lanka, no one did.

South Africa, meanwhile, have had consistent batting contributions all-round. They will, however, be without one of their main contributors.

JP Duminy has been ruled out of action with a hamstring strain and will most likely be replaced by Rilee Rossouw.

That both teams have batsmen who can single-handedly change a match makes for a fascinating prospect, but the fixture is far more likely to come down to the bowlers.

Nagpur has offered plenty of assistance to the spin bowlers and South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo admitted on Tuesday that they are likely to play two spinners meaning either Chris Morris or Kyle Abbott could miss out to make room for Aaron Phangiso. 

The Windies are likely to persist with the duo of Samuel Badree and Sulieman Benn and this fixture will almost certainly be decided by the spinners. 

Having won two out of two, the Windies are under far less pressure, while South Africa have to win to keep their hopes of making the semi-finals alive.

Key players

South Africa

Imran Tahir probably did one of his famous running celebrations when he found out South Africa will be playing in Nagpur. While he has been South Africa's best T20 bowler for the last two years, he doesn't often get to bowl on wickets like this and will be licking his lips at the prospect.

West Indies

Samuel Badree has an economy rate of just 5.75 and a strike rate of 16.00 in the tournament so far. Restricting South Africa's top order up front will be key and Badree will have a big role to play in doing just that.

Squads

South Africa

Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Aaron Phangiso, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, AB de Villiers, Imran Tahir, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn

West Indies

Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Evin Lewis, Jerome Taylor.

All information obtained firsthand, unless otherwise stated