India v South Africa 2nd T20I: Match Preview

India will look to turn things around in Cuttack

After a thrilling series opener in Dharamshala, India will look to turn their fortunes around when they face a confident South African side in Cuttack in the second T20I of the Freedom series. Despite a valiant century by Rohit Sharma, India went down to South Africa, courtesy a 34-ball knock by JP Duminy.

India will be wary about their bowling options for the second T20I and will look to make changes accordingly. The batting department seems to be in order with the batsman rising to the occasion at Dharamsala. India though will be left rueing about what they could have done right after they were undone by a couple of umpiring howlers, which effectively turned the match on its head.

The visitors also have their issues with the bowling department as Imran Tahir, considered their most important player for the series against India, was smashed by Rohit & Kohli, on their way to a record partnership. The experiment of opening with AB de Villiers seems to be working well for South Africa and they would be once again banking on Duminy, who has started the tour impressively, to win the series at Cuttack.

Team News

India

The batting department is nicely placed at the moment and no changes are expected when it comes to the batting order either. Dhoni might opt to go in with an additional spinner, however, after seeing the manner in which Ravichandran Ashwin troubled the South African batsmen. Either of Amit Mishra or Harbhajan Singh is likely to get a place in playing XI, replacing one of the seamers.

South Africa

The victorious Proteas team is unlikely to make any changes in their playing XI. However, South Africa might look to bolster their already powerful batting by bringing in all-rounder Albie Morkel in place of Chris Morris. The South Africans will be looking to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, by going in with a largely unchanged squad.

Broadcast Details

TV Channel: Star Sports 1, HD1 (English) and SS3, HD3 (Hindi)

Online Stream: www.starsports.com

Date: Monday, October 5

Time: 1900 IST (1530 SAST)

Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Pitch & Conditions

The Barabati wicket is likely to be on the slower side, and that should delight India more than the visitors with the variety of spin options in their squad. The bigger problem for both the teams though will be the weather. There has been persistent rain in Cuttack over the past 2 days, and the weather is unlikely to change in the next 48 hours. The toss as always will play a crucial role, with both teams wanting to bowl first, because of the threat of rain.

Possible Line-ups

India XI

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ambati Rayudu, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, S Aravind/Harbhajan Singh/Amit Mishra.

South Africa XIAB de Villiers (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (capt), JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris/Albie Morkel, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Marchant de Lange, Imran Tahir.