India vs South Africa | 2nd T20I Preview, Match Predictions, Weather, Line-ups, Live Streaming, Press Conferences

02/21/2018

After completely dominating the ODI leg of the tour, India started their T20I series in some style and will need to seal the series in Centurion today. However, the match will also provide the hosts with an opportunity to pull one back in the series and keep the rubber alive for Cape Town.

Preview

Although many players would have started packing their bags to come home after in what has been a draining tour so far, the leg will also provide players like Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, and MS Dhoni to make a statement of intent. While Raina managed to showcase glimpses of his abilities of years that gone by, Pandey was particularly scratchy, managing runs at just over a run-a-ball and will try to go big this time. However, the most disappointing thing about the team is the underperformance of MS Dhoni, who continued to have troubles in shifting the gears instantly and it’s time the wicket-keeper needs to introspect.

On the other hand, South Africa, who have been marred by the absence of two of their main weapons AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, have terribly underperformed the first T20I. However, this T20I will also provide the likes of JJ Smuts and Reeza Hendricks to prove themselves. Hendricks was brilliant in the first match with a belligerent 70, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar's five-fer ensured all of Hendricks's good work was nullified.

Who Said What

Junior Dala, who picked up two wickets on his T20I debut at the Wanderers, emphasized on the need of being proactive rather than reactive ahead of the second T20I in Centurion. The pacer has also admitted that he was nervous ahead of his debut but he was eventually happy with his performance.

Read the full report here.

Sunil Gavaskar has predicted that Yuzvendra Chahal will play a crucial role in the second T20I of the series as the Centurion pitch is expected to offer help for the spinners. The former Indian cricketer has hoped that the visitors will continue their exploits in the upcoming games of the series.

Read the full report here.

Match Prediction

Betting Odds - South Africa to win 6/4; India to win 8/15

Predicted XI

India : MS Dhoni (wk), Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya

South Africa : Reeza Hendricks, Jon-Jon Smuts, JP Duminy (capt), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Dane Paterson, Junior Dala, Aaron Phangiso

When - South Africa vs India, 2nd T20I, February 21, 6 PM Local, 9.30 PM IST

Playing XI

South Africa : JJ Smuts, Reeza Hendricks, Jean-Paul Duminy(c), David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Dane Paterson, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi

India : Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli(c), Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch conditions

Centurion has given assistance for spinners during the course of one Test and two ODIs that have been played at the venue during this tour. And it is expected to be the same today. But with the rain already hitting the ground at the afternoon, spinners may not enjoy that advantage today.

Weather Update

India’s early chance of sealing the three-match T20I series in the second game itself could take a serious hit as weather forecast expect thundershowers in the afternoon. The meteorological department has an 80% expectancy of thundershowers in the afternoon that might delay the start of the match.

Venue

Centurion, Highveld, South Africa

Time

9.30 PM (IST), 6.00 PM (local time)

TV Listings

Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 1 HD, Sony Ten 3, Sony Ten 3 HD

Live Streams

SonyLiv, Espn.in (for Indian sub-continent only)