South Africa VS India, 2nd ODI

India's middle order will need to get some runs. © AFP

 

The Picture

It is quite rare that you see the Indian team so battered and bruised after just the first encounter. India were literally taken to the cleaners by the duo of Temba Bavuma and Rassie Van der Dussen who scored twin centuries to guide the hosts to a par total of  296 which proved a little out of reach for a young Indian middle order. Kohli, Dhawan and Shardul hit half centuries but India still fell short by 31 runs in the end. The Protean spinners had a huge impact on a pitch that was slow and taking turn and their Indian counterparts looked lacklustre and paled away in comparison. India's middle order is also a cause of concern, with KL Rahul the middle order fulcrum since 2019 worldcup shifting up the order, the young middle order is finding it difficult to score runs under pressure. India won't look to do wholesome changes and under Rahul Dravid will look to give the boys a fair shot at nailing their place in the side. The top order where the bulk of the runs are scored will have to ensure that at least one of them carries on their good start and bat deep so as to ease the pressure and keep the scoreboard ticking. India will hope that they have some good fortune as well as a good performance from their players so as to force the series to a decider and have a shot at not returning home empty handed. South Africa will look to continue their good work and closeout India for good and the series before heading into the third one dayer on Sunday. 

When: 21 January 2022, Friday

Time: 2:00 P.M (IST)

Where: Boland Park, Paarl

Team News

South Africa

Temba Bavuma summed up the last match as a complete performance and he will not want to change the team that won him that game. 

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock, Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

India

Considering the workload of senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah, the visitors might look to give him a break considering the frequency of matches on this tour. But then again it is a must-win game to keep the series alive, so Bumrah might play yet again.

Probable XI: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah/ Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch and Playing Conditions

The wicket at Paarl for the second game will be similar to the first encounter, low and slow with the spinners getting more purchase. Then there is the heat factor as well, with the conditions expected to be sweltering and quite hot. The captain winning the toss will want to bat first and put the scoreboard pressure on the opposition.

Interesting Facts

• Since August 2019 for batters who have played 10+ innings, Rassie Van der Dussen's average of 73.43 is the third best.