India vs South Africa Statistical Preview - Everything you need to know about 2nd T20I in Mohali

ByBodog India, SportsCafe Editor

09/18/2019

After a frustrating day out in Dharamsala which saw the match completely get washed out, the teams will now move on to Mohali for the second of the three T20Is. Both teams will come all guns blazing heading into this contest, as a victory here will ensure that the series cannot be lost.

Form Guide

South Africa - N-W-W-W-L-W-W-W-W-W

Having just lost 1 of their last 10 T20 matches, South Africa will be soaring with confidence heading into this matchup and would know that a victory here would shield them from a series defeat. Perhaps a washout is a blessing in disguise for them, giving their players more time to get acclimatized to the conditions.

India - N-W-W-W-L-L-L-W-L-W

Having thrashed the Windies 3-0 in their own backyard, the Men in Blue will be looking to get their combinations right and kick-start their home season in style. Having already lost a T20I bilateral series against Australia at home earlier this year, the Virat Kohli-led team will be eager to record a series win against the Proteas.

Head to Head

South Africa - W5 and L8

India - W8 and L5

No Result - 1

Despite the overall H2H record being 8-5 in favour of India, since 2014, the two sides have been pretty much inseparable. In fact, post 2012, both teams have three wins each to their name and have won one bilateral series each. But with no Faf du Plessis and Team India hungrier than ever, Bodog can’t help but think that the Men in Blue will head into the contest as heavy favorites as is reflected in their pick.

Key Batsmen

Virat Kohli: Some of Kohli’s best knocks - irrespective of the format - have come in Mohali and interestingly, the last match he played at this venue was his 82* against Australia in the WT20 in 2016. However, heading into this match, he averages only 28.83 against the Proteas in H2H T20I matches. But then again, no one in the world quite loves a challenge like Kohli and it won’t be surprising to see him top score in today’s contest.

Rohit Sharma: Unlike his skipper Kohli, Rohit Sharma enjoys a healthy record against the Proteas - an average of 37.88 - and also has a H2H hundred to his name. It was not long ago that Rohit smacked a 35-ball century and in T20is in India, he has a mind-boggling three centuries to his name. So even if Kohli fails, we can put our trust on Rohit to take the Proteas bowling to the cleaners today!

With Rohit Sharma opening the innings for India, he is ideally the best placed player to have an impact on the match today. However, Bodog believes that Virat Kohli would end the day as the star of the game as is quite obvious in their analysis for the game.

Key Bowlers

Deepak Chahar: The 27-year-old is exactly the kind of bowler who can run through opposition batsmen with pure skill and he showcased the same in the last T20I he played against the Windies, returning figures of 3-1-4-3. With Mohali set to offer some good pace and swing, we feel there’s every chance of Chahar repeating his Windies heroics and ending up as the highest wicket-taker of the match.

Khaleel Ahmed: Khaleel made his debut for India at just the age of 20 and ever since, the youngster has proved to be a gifted wicket-taker. many a batsman in the past have been deceived by his swing and variations, and the last time Khaleel donned the Indian shirt, he picked a 3-wicket haul. Expect him to match Chahar in terms of taking wickets, if not go past him, in Mohali today.

Venue

With 2 wins from 2 matches, India are unbeaten in Mohali. The average first innings score in T20Is in Mohali is an astonishing 185 and IPL 2019, the ground saw an average first innings total of 171 across seven matches. Interestingly, teams batting second in Mohali won 5/7 times in IPL 2019, a clear giveaway of unavoidable dew in the ground which helps chasing. Bodog might have handed the favorites tag to India pre match but it could be a completely different case post the toss.

Sixes

The four T20Is that have been played in this ground saw an astonishing 43 sixes being hit. In fact, the last 3 IPL matches in Mohali actually saw, a scarcely believable, 16 sixes hit per match. So it is fair to say that we can expect a lot of sixes today, especially from the bat of the Indian batsmen.

Squads

India’s T20I squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini.

South Africa’s T20I squad: Quinton de Kock (C & WK), Rassie van der Dussen (VC), Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi and George Linde.

Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Date and Time: September 15, 7.00 PM IST

Telecast: Hotstar and Star Network

Predicted XI

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (C & WK), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, David Miller, George Linde, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada

To witness who leads the charge at any point in the game, you can follow the action on Bodog.