The series opener in Durban between India and South America was washed out due to incessant rains and everyone will be hoping for a better forecast in Gqeberha, the venue for the second T20I on Tuesday, December 12. The series mostly features younger players from both squads as the starters have decided to give the white-ball series a miss keeping Test matches in mind, but the remaining two games could also serve as a blueprint for both sides with the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in six months.
India have added a few members from the World Cup 2023 squad to the side that played the five-match T20 series against Australia, which includes the likes of Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, who will also be Suryakumar Yadav's deputy for the series, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. How the bowlers perform at the death against a dangerous batting line-up and how the openers go about it against the South African pacers will give a lot of answers to the management ahead of the T20 World Cup given that India don't play many games in the format before the tournament.
St George's Park in Gqeberha Pitch Report
The action shifts from cloudy Durban to Gqberha in Port Elizabeth for the second T20I. Only three T20Is have been played so far at this venue and the scores haven't been that high. St George's Park offers assistance to the fast bowlers with pace, bounce and carry in the surface and hence the toss isn't a factor here that much. This shows in the results at the venue too with the team batting first winning two out of three completed T20Is. If we look at the SA20, the team batting second won three out of five games. Hence, toss might not be that huge a factor but since it's the start of the season, the wicket might be fresh and hence the captains will be tempted to bat first.
However, the weather forecast doesn't look all that great and hence the captain winning the toss is likely to bowl first. The pacers will get some assistance, however, once the powerplay is done and the spinners get into the action, the batters will be able to enjoy the bounce and hit the slower bowlers rather comfortably since there won't be much for them in the surface. It is likely to be in the range of 165-170 surface unless rain plays a spoilsport and shortens the game.
