India drew first blood in Thiruvananthapuram when they clashed against South Africa in the series opener. A sumptuous bowling performance from the pacers aided India to go one up in the series after trouncing the Proteas by 8 wickets. The series now moves to Guwahati as the two sides clash on October 2, for the second fixture of the three-match series.
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The pitch of Thiruvanathapuram was expected to be full of runs but the green covering on top meant that there was swing on offer for the seamers. Bowling first, India’s Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar swayed the ball in both directions, bamboozling the South African batters. In a blink of an eye, the Proteas were 5 down for just 9 runs on the board and eventually managed to post a total of 106 runs.
Chasing a low total, the Indian top order refrained from their newly adopted all-out attack mantra. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bit the dust early and returned without any impact. However, KL Rahul had decided to put his test hat on as he showed resilience through the fiery spells of the South African pacers.
Amidst all the chaos, India’s new number four Suryakumar Yadav had no interest in maintaining a cautious approach as he came out and smashed Anrich Nortje for consecutive sixes. Along with Rahul, Suryakumar took India over the line without breaking much sweat in the humid conditions of Kerala.
The Proteas will look to square things up in Guwahati while Rohit Sharma and his men will be focused on putting the series to bed, gaining an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Weather report
The second T20I match of the bilateral series between India and South Africa will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on October 2. Rain might cause hindrance in the match as there are scattered thunderstorms predicted on Sunday. The temperature in Guwahati will hover around 35 degrees Celsius and there passing showers are expected during the course of the match. The precipitation rate is projected at 40 percent for Sunday. The Wind speed is expected to be around 4 km/h and the humidity rate will be around 64 percent on the match day.
Pitch Report
The Barsapara pitch has proved to be relatively low-scoring, owing to the slow pace of the track. The average score at the venue is just 138 runs as the batters find it difficult to adjust to the pace of the pitch. The spinners will be vital here as there will be varied bounce and turn on offer. Expect a lot of slower deliveries from the pacers as it will make it difficult for the batters to time the ball. Rain could make matters worse for the batters as it might increase the tackiness of the surface. The team winning the toss will look to bowl first as dew also comes into play in the latter half of the day.
India (IND) vs South Africa (SA) Possible XIs
India Predicted Line-up: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa Predicted Line-up: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
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