By: Tarish Bhatt
It wasn’t the result MS Dhoni and his men were hoping in the 1st T20, as despite posting an imposing total on the board, they went down in the tour opener at the picturesque Dharamsala stadium. But, all is not yet lost for India, as they can still make a comeback in the T20 series, with two more games to spare.
India vs South Africa 2nd T20 Live Streaming Information:
The India vs South Africa 2nd T20 is scheduled for a 7:00 IST (13:30 GMT) start at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack. Viewers can catch the match live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Willow TV & Sky Sports 3, with live streaming option HERE, HERE and HERE. The live score updates of the 2nd T20 will be available HERE, HERE and HERE.
In the 1st T20, riding on Rohit Sharma’s maiden ton in the shortest format of the game, India gave a 200-run target to South Africa, but the Proteas top-order scripted a stunning run-chase. JP Duminy, Farhan Bernadine, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla contributed in the win.
On a batting paradise, India had the game under control firstly when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were batting, and secondly when Ravichandran Ashwin was bowling. But, the kind of format T20 is, just two bad overs in the entire match took the game away from India.
“There were phases in the games. Two phases of four deliveries each where we gave a lot of runs. That actually put a lot of pressure,” MS Dhoni said after the match. “Overall, I think when you put around 200 on board, there will be a considerable amount of pressure on the bowlers because oppositions will also look to chase them down.
“200 was close to par score looking at everything but I felt we could’ve done slightly better with our bowling,” he added. “It was definite that you were going to get hit for sixes and fours but it was important not to give away those runs in those six deliveries.”
With the 2nd T20 is to be played in at the Barabati Stadium, bowlers can hope for some respite, but in T20s you never know. Still, this has to be taken into consideration that Dharamsala offered nothing to bowlers, and the dew just worsened things, making it a lopsided contest in favour of the batsmen.
India, meanwhile, have some fond memories of the ground as when they last time played in Cuttack, they handed a thumping defeat to Sri Lanka. The hosts would be hoping something similar, to level the series, but it won’t be easy.
Teams (Possible XI): India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (c), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers , JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abott, Marchant de Lange and Imran Tahir.
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