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Preview 2nd T20: India vs South Africa
South Africa would want to forget the horrors of 1st match as they move on their next match.
India were clinical in their all departments and handed out a comprehensive defeat to the visitors.
The biggest shocker for India is Bumrah’s injury status.
Owing to a back stress fracture, the Indian pacer has been ruled out for the rest of series.
Speculation is also emerging about his unavailability for the World Cup but nothing is certain so far.
The other vexing issue for India is fixing their middle order.
Apart from Suryakumar Yadav, no other batter – Kohli, Pant or Karthik – is showing the desired consistency.
South Africa will be keen to getting their batting mojo back.
In the face of some brilliant swing bowling by Indians pacers, their middle order crumbled within the power play.
Aiden Markram was the only one from the top who showed some spunk whereas their key batters -Bavuma, Rousseau and Miller went without troubling the scoreboard.
There was also some resistance in the lower order from Maharaj and Parnell but South Africa just managed to score a little above 100.
India in response started cautiously but Rohit and Kohli fell early.
Later, KL Rahul steadied the ship while Suryakumar Yadav blasted another crucial knock to take India home.
Tabraiz Shamsi is the 2nd best T20 bowler in the world right now but his track record against India looks quite ordinary.
He has only 1 wicket in the last 5 matches against India with an economy rate of 10 per over.
For India, Harshal Patel’s form is a sign of worry specially now in the absence of Bumrah.
Harshal is coming back from an injury and to make a return on these flat pitches is an uphill task for any bowler.
Both teams are likely to go with the same squad unless there is any last minute change to try and adjust new combinations.
Match details
Venue: Barsapara Stadium, Guwahati
Date: 2nd October,2022
Time: 6:30 pm IST
Head to head past record:
India and South Africa have played 21 T20 games against each other.
India leads the tally with 12 wins while South Africa has 8 victories.
One match ended without result.
Probable Playing 11 – India:
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Probable Playing 11 –South Africa:
Quinton De Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rousseau, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje/Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi
Star bowler of the match:
Arshdeep Singh
Star batsman of the match:
Virat Kohli
Who will win?
Conditions in Guwahti will be quite humid with a chance of some rain showers later in the evening.
Both teams would be wary of some early movement offered to bowlers so the toss will be critical.
South Africa’s track record against India in India is quite remarkable with a positive win-loss ratio.
If India manages to beat South Africa and take the series, it will be the first time in their 4 attempts.
Our prediction is South Africa will win.