India vs South Africa, 2nd ODI – Match Preview

India would look to take an impregnable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series when they would take on South Africa at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Wednesday. The hosts had won the opening game of the series by 17 runs after Virat Kohli scored a majestic knock of 135 runs off just 120 balls.

However, the Proteas were able to take the game deep, with Marco Jansen, Matthew Breetzke, and Corbin Bosch scoring valuable runs. South Africa’s top order was dismissed cheaply and they could have got over the line if their top three batters had given some contribution.

Meanwhile, India decided not to play Nitish Kumar Reddy, which was surprising as the main all-rounder, Hardik Pandya, is not part of the squad. Ruturaj Gaikwad could not grab his opportunity at number four and the Maharashtra batter would want to deliver in the second game.

Virat Kohli was once again brilliant on Sunday, whereas Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul added crucial runs. Furthermore, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav were able to deliver with the ball.

On the other hand, Temba Bavuma could return to lead South Africa in the second game after he was rested from the series opener.

Head to Head: Matches: 94, Won by South Africa: 51, Won by India: 40, No result: 3.

India ODI Squad: KL Rahul (c/wk), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel

South Africa ODI squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen.