SA vs IND 2024/25, SA vs IND 2nd T20I Match Preview Trendy Blogger

Big picture: two contrasting T20I races

India and South Africa had a sensational T20 World Cup 2024. They went through the group stage undefeated, then topped their respective groups in the Super Eight before recording comfortable victories in the semi-final. Even in the final, there wasn’t much difference between the two teams until the end.

Since then, however, the two teams’ fortunes have taken different paths, notably in T20Is.

Despite losing three players from the final eleven following their retirement, India had a smooth transition with Suryakumar Yadav taking over and the youngsters integrating well. They are currently on an 11-game winning streak, including a series win in Zimbabwe, series wins over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and a victory in the series opener against South Africa on Friday.

India have played 23 T20Is this year and won 22 of them, with the only defeat coming against Zimbabwe in the first T20I in early July. And most importantly, they achieved many of these victories without their first-choice T20I players. They can match their best streak of 12 (which they have achieved twice), if they manage to win the second T20I against South Africa at Gqeberha on Sunday.

On the other hand, South Africa has been struggling since its defeat in the World Cup final. Right after that defeat, they lost 3-0 to West Indies in Tarouba while their series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi ended 1-1. A defeat in Durban is unlikely to do their confidence any favors.

South Africa’s biggest problem and the one that helped them dominate the T20 World Cup was the way the whole squad came together brilliantly. This is one thing they lacked in the last T20Is. Their captain Aiden Markram struggled with form while they also missed out on a crucial point of their main players in the XI.

Now trailing 1-0 in this four-match series, South Africa will desperately need to get back to winning ways at a stadium where they have enjoyed success. They have recorded three wins out of four in T20Is at Gqeberha, including one against India last year. Can they do it against an Indian team that is on a golden run in T20Is?

Form Guide

South Africa LOL (last five T20Is, most recent first)
India WWWWW

In the spotlight: Gerald Coetzee and Arshdeep Singh

In the opening T20I where all the other South African bowlers were taken to the cleaners, Gerald Coetzee was the only one to provide any semblance of control. He was feisty, he extracted a good rebound and put the Indian hitters on their toes. According to ball-by-ball data from ESPNcricinfo, 14 of his 24 deliveries were either short or of good length, which helped him take wickets. Gqeberha’s surface is likely to help his bowling style.

Arshdeep Singh has been one of the main reasons for India’s glorious run in T20 in 2024. He has played just 15 matches and already has 29 wickets, the second highest for a player from a member country to fully this year. In Gqeberha too, he has some records in sight. Currently fourth on the list of most T20I wickets for India with 88, Arshdeep has a chance to overtake Jasprit Bumrah (89) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (90) and move into second place behind Yuzvendra Chahal (96). With India set to play three more T20Is this year, he also has a chance to claim the record for most wickets taken in a calendar year by an Indian pacer, currently held by Bhuvneshwar who scalped 37 in 2022 .

Team News: Will India debut in Ramandeep?

Nqabayomzi Peter did not look fit in the first T20I and could be replaced by Ottneil Baartman, who can strengthen the fast bowling attack. Reeza Hendricks missed the opening T20I due to illness and, if fit, will likely return at the top of the order. It remains to be seen whether he will replace Ryan Rickelton or Patrick Kruger, who had a difficult outing in Durban – both with bat and ball.

South Africa (probable): 1 Ryan Rickelton (week), 2 Aiden Markram (captain), 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 David Miller, 6 Partrick Kruger, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Andile Simelane, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Nqabayomzi Peter/Ottneil Baartman

It was slightly surprising to see India go with three spinners: Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy. At Gqeberha, where the surface is likely to favor more pace, they could look to bring in Ramandeep Singh, who can act as a finisher and ensure some overs with his medium pace. India are unlikely to make any changes to their batting unit.

India (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (week), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (captain), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel/Ramandeep Singh, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Varun Chakravarthy

Location and conditions

There is a bit of rain in the air at Gqeberha, but it is unlikely to affect the match. The surface is likely to hold plenty for fast bowlers with good bounce and lift. The temperature is expected to hover around 20 degrees Celsius on the Celsius scale.

Statistics and anecdotes

Hardik Pandya, currently on 87 T20I wickets, has a chance to overtake Arshdeep (88), Bumrah (89) and Bhuvneshwar (90) and move to second on India’s all-time list of T20I wicket-takers.
Sanju Samson became only the fourth batter to score successive T20I centuries in Durban. No batter has scored three consecutive centuries in T20Is to date
Samson’s strike rate of 180.66 is the highest for any full member hitter in 2024 with a minimum of 300 runs.
India have a formidable T20I record against South Africa in South Africa: seven wins and three losses in ten matches

Quotes

“When you play an opponent like South Africa, we know the energy they bring with them and they have a very good team coming in and they play their cricket very aggressively. We just have to respect them and do what we are known for we are world champions right now, so I think we have to play like that and we just have to be careful of what is in our control and continue to look to dominate in this format, which is what. we did last year.”
Sanju Samson says India will continue to play hard with the bat, regardless of the opposition

“We were just in the final of a T20 World Cup. It’s a new team now. There is a World Cup the following year, so we need new blood. There is a lot of talent, we have seen that. It’s just that the boys need experience, they need to hone their skills and we’ll be good to go.
Gerald Coetzee don’t think too much about South Africa’s recent loss of form