IND vs SA 2nd T20I: India and South Africa are all set to have a crack at each other when they meet for the second time in the ongoing T20I series in India. The home team started on a winning note on a two-paced surface of Trivandrum and now have a chance to wrap the series in Guwahati on Sunday. On the other side of the coin, South Africa would want to forget the horrid batting in the first T20I and make a strong comeback.
Not only that the second match can be a series decider but the larger picture is that it is among the final moments to tune up for the T20 World Cup in Australia. With doubts about Jasprit Bumrah's availability for the World Cup, India will look to consolidate their death bowling more and give more opportunities to the seamers who are in the scheme of things for the World Cup.
Will India make any changes to the batting order; will Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant play together?
India's batting in the recent T20I outings has been doing a fine job for the team. Various batters have stood up on different occasions. Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have been India's torch bearers in the batting with openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul also rising on some occasions. Rohit Sharma had earlier said that he wants both Dinesh Karthik and Rishabha Pant to get enough playing time ahead of the T20 World Cup. With the top four set and Hardik Pandya not in the team for the current series, Karthik and Pant are likely to feature in both outings. Also, Rohit might send Pant some positions up the order to give him more time.
How will India find Jasprit Bumrah's answer?
India's star pacer Jasprit Bumrah has sustained a back injury and has been ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa. Media reports claimed that the 28-year-old will miss the T20 World Cup but BCCI is yet to confirm. Also, board president Sourav Ganguly and head coach Rahul Dravid have kept their fingers crossed on Bumrah and said that Bumrah is still not out of the marquee event in Australia.
But with Bumrah not in the ongoing series anymore, the men in blue will look to strengthen their death bowling. Though Harshal Patel looks some way far from his best, Arshdeep Singh has been bowling very well and has offered great signs to bowl in either part of the innings. Also, Deepak Chahar's swinging deliveries will likely trouble the opposition batters in the start.
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India's predicted XI for the second T20I:
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, R. Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh
