India v South Africa, 2nd T20I: Preview

Rain played the spoilsport in Dharamshala.as the first T20I was abandoned without a ball being bowled. 

South Africa suffered the most because of the first T20I being washed out as it was a great chance to contest against one of the top teams in the world. After the World Cup disappointment, South Africa needs opportunities to go their way keeping the T20 World Cup in mind.

For India though, the team is yet to find the the right combination. Too many options are there for the middle and the lower order but none of the players have stood up to secure their spot in the team.

However, from this series, things are only going to get tougher for them. Recently, Virat Kohli has addressed the same in the press conference and has asked the team to perform consistently. 

The head coach Ravi Shastri also spoke about Rishabh Pant and his shot selection. The youngster who keeps throwing his wicket away needs to improve.

Possibly, Pant was listening to the comments and he was seen sweating it out at the nets along with the newly appointed batting coach Vikram Rathour and all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

TEAMS:

India: Virat Kohli has fond memories of this ground not only for his knock against Australia in 2016 World Cup.

Once again Pandya brothers can appear in the team after a long time. Chahar brothers are also an option unless Kohli sticks with Washington Sundar to take on Quinton De Kock in the opening overs.

Other than that, Lance Klusener's remarks on Navdeep Saini will only make the latter work hard and it will be interesting to see how he does that. On the other hand, India will be dependent on Deepak Chahar's ability to swing the ball both ways. 

Eyes will also be on Shreyas Iyer as he looks to seal the number four spot for himself. 

South Africa: Nobody knows this ground better than David Miller. He has been a vital part of Kings XI Punjab's team for plenty of years.

For South Africa though, they have four uncapped players up for debut and it is almost certain that Temba Bavuma will make his debut today. Dwaine Pretorius who had a good run at the World Cup can make it to the eleven ahead of the uncapped George Linde. 

Also, Junior Dala's impressive record against Rohit Sharma can give him the entry ticket to the playing eleven ahead of the uncapped Anrich Nortje. Having said that, it is important for South Africa that they try out all the possible combinations available leading into the World Cup. So, it is a sweet headache for Quinton De Kock.

Probable

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

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (c), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius/George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Junior Dala/Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Conditions: The pitch is a belter to bat on and the good news for the fans is that there is no rain in the forecast, though the humidity can play its part.

Picture Collage Courtesy: Daily Bhaskar