Ever since they earned a consolation win in the third and final Test against South Africa in Johannesburg in January, India have made good use of the momentum and have rarely taken their foot off the pedal on what was touted as one of their sternest overseas tests.
As a result, the Men in Blue went on to clinch an unprecedented win in the six-match ODI series, winning it by a dominant 5-1 margin. India started the T20I series on a high, crushing South Africa by 28 runs in Johannesburg on February 18.
However, South Africa made a spirited comeback in the rain-hit second T20I on February 21 and forced a decider, which will be played in Cape Town on Saturday, February 24.
Virat Kohli and his men are thus chasing history as they have a chance to become the first Indian team to win a bilateral T20I series (more than one match) against South Africa. Notably, the Proteas stunned an MS Dhoni-led side 2-0 in a three-match series on their tour to India in 2015.
Meanwhile, a few personal records are also up for grabs as the T20I series heads for an exciting finish at the Newlands Cricket Ground.
IBTimes India has compiled a list of records that can be broken by members of the Indian team on Saturday. Check them out below.
1. In-form Kohli eyes T20I landmark
Kohli needs 17 runs to become the first Indian and third cricketer to reach the 2,000-run mark in the shortest format of the game. New Zealand's Martin Guptill leads the T20I batting chart with 2,271 runs while the Black Caps' former skipper Brendon McCullum in second on the list with 2,140 runs.
2. Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey eye Rohit Sharma's record
Indian opener Rohit Sharma holds the record for the most number of runs scored in an India-South Africa T20I bilateral series. The 30-year-old hit 128 runs from two matches during India's 2-0 loss to the then visitors in 2015.
Both Dhawan and Pandey are in with chances of breaking Rohit's record on Saturday in Cape Town.
While the right-handed middle-order batsman is currently second on the list with 108 runs in the ongoing series, Dhawan needs 33 runs to go past his opening partner.
3. Rohit vs Suresh Raina
Rohit is leading the run-scorers' list in India-South Africa T20Is with 330 runs from 10 matches. Comeback man Raina, with 296 runs from 11 matches, has a chance to surpass him.
Notably, Raina, who played his first T20I for India after over a year in Johannesburg last week, has scored 45 runs from two matches while Rohit has managed only 21 so far.
4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar set for bowling record
All-format pace bowler Bhuvneshwar needs a wicket to go past Zaheer Khan on the list of bowlers with most wickets in T20I bilateral series between India and South Africa.
While both Bhuvneshwar and Zaheer are tied at the second spot with six wickets each, off-spinner R Ashwin is leading the chart with 10 wickets.
5. MS Dhoni eyes batting, wicketkeeping landmarks
Dhoni needs 68 runs to become the third Indian after Kohli (1,983) and Rohit (1,668) to reach the 1,500-run mark in T20Is.
The Ranchi gloveman now needs one more catch to become the first wicketkeeper to take 50 catches in T20I cricket. He has 49 catches and 29 stumpings from 88 international outings.
West Indies' Denesh Ramdin stands a distant second with 32 catches to his name.
Notably, Dhoni broke Kumar Sangakkara's record for the most number of catches (133) in T20s when he took the catch of South African opener Reeza Hendricks in the first T20I on Sunday.
