India and South Africa eye momentum as 2nd T20I comes knocking

After a disappointing start to the series as the first T20I was washed out, all eyes will be on the second T20I of the series that will witness Team India going head on against South Africa, hoping to produce a remarkable performance in foreign conditions. It is a stern test for the new faces in the Indian side who are being deemed as the seeds of a revolution in the shortest format of the game, particularly with the T20 World Cup on the horizon.

Even though questions remain about how strong this South African side is, truth be told, in the brutal pace and swinging conditions of the Rainbow Nation, irrespective of the team’s strength, we have seen stalwarts of the game struggling to find their foothold.

India will certainly be eager to watch how the current crop of players react to overseas conditions for the second time after a successful showdown against Ireland earlier in the year. Even though there is a drastic contrast in the gentry of the oppositions from back in the Irish shores to the Protean coasts, yet, the nucleus of the Indian team remains the same and the intent to prove themselves under the cosh is also the same.

With Suryakumar Yadav leading the side in absence of Hardik Pandya who is still to get fit from the injury that was copped during the World Cup, India did a fairly decent job, taming a high-flying Australia in home conditions. However, the case is different here as the majority of the Indian squad will be playing in South Africa for the first time.

South Africa have a nice blend of youth and experience that will see David Miller, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen taking point as the senior thinktank of the company while the likes of Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira and Matthew Breetzke will be exciting names to watch out for.

Venue Watch:

Gqeberha’s surface has certainly produced a handful of thrillers over the years but then when it comes to T20I fixtures, only eight of them have been hosted in the venue. Four of them have been won batting first while the other four have been won chasing. The average first innings score is 130 while the average second innings score is 111.

Head to Head:

Matches played: 24

India – 13

South Africa - 10

Match Details:

Match – South Africa vs India

Venue: St. George’s Park, Gqeberha

Date: 12th December, 2023

Time: 8:30 PM

Squads:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar

South Africa:  Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee (1st and 2ndT20Is), Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen (1st and 2nd T20Is), Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi (1st and 2nd T20Is), Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Lizaad Williams