India have taken a 1-0 lead in the four-match T20I series against South Africa after winning the first game by a big margin of 61 runs at the Kingsmead in Durban. The star of the show with the bat for India was Sanju Samson with an exceptional hundred, while Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi picked up three wickets each, to help bundle out the hosts within their allotted 20 overs in the innings.
In the second game, which will be played at St George’s Park in Gqeberha, the Indian cricket team will have a chance to ensure that they can’t lose the four-match series versus South Africa. But, to do that, the Men in Blue will have to bring their A game to the floor once again, which is easier said than done against the Proteas, who aren’t going to go down without a fight.
In this article, SportsTiger looks at India’s probable playing XI versus South Africa for the second T20I at the St George’s Park in Gqeberha.
Openers: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma
After getting the chance to open the batting in his T20I career in recent months, Sanju Samson has found a new lease of life in the shortest format with back-to-back hundreds, first against Bangladesh at home before repeating the feat in South Africa, becoming the first player to achieve this feat. His opening partner Abhishek Sharma has struggled for form in recent matches in his T20I, but the talent and the skill is abundant in the young left-handed batter.
Middle Order: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh
Suryakumar Yadav, who is among the best batters in T20 cricket currently, has been in a purple patch for quite some time in the shortest format, and after taking over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma, his team has won seven matches on the spin. Tilak Varma made his return to the Indian cricket team in the first T20I versus South Africa, and he played a decent innings of 33 in 18, to put himself in the mix for future selection in the playing XI.
Hardik Pandya wasn’t quite at his best with the ball against South Africa in the first T20I in Durban, but he had made a contribution with the bat earlier in the contest. Rinku Singh had to attack the Protea bowlers from the get-go after arriving at the crease in the death overs, and in his quest for quick runs, he was dismissed cheaply.
All-Rounder: Axar Patel
Axar Patel had not many balls to face in the death overs of the Indian innings in the first T20I in Durban, while in the bowling side of things, he delivered only one over. Although the contribution from the all-rounder to India’s latest win over South Africa was minimal, he could be key to the visitors’ quest to win the four-match T20I series in the rainbow nation.
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakravarthy
Arshdeep Singh picked up the early wicket of South Africa’s captain Aiden Markram, to set the tone of India’s defence of the 202-run total, while his opening bowling partner Avesh Khan took the massive scalp of Tristan Stubbs cheaply. Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy were the stars of the first T20I for India with the ball, with the latter taking the big wickets of Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, to put the target well beyond the reach of South Africa.