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

by November 10, 2024

Big picture: Two contrasting T20I runs

Both India and South Africa had a sensational 2024 T20 World Cup. They sailed through the group stages unbeaten and then topped their respective groups in the Super Eight before registering comfortable victories in the semi-finals. Even in the final there was hardly any difference between the two teams until the end.

However, their fortunes have changed since then, especially in the T20Is.

Despite losing three big players from the squad after the World Cup triumph, India enjoyed a seamless transition with Suryakumar Yadav taking over and the youngsters fitting in well. They are currently on an 11-match winning streak which includes a series win in Zimbabwe, series wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and a win in the series opening match against South Africa on Friday.

India have played 23 T20Is this year and won 22, with their only loss coming against Zimbabwe in the first T20I in early July. And crucially, they have achieved many of these wins without their first-choice T20I players. If they manage to win the second T20I against South Africa in Gqeberha on Sunday, they can equal their best ever series of 12 (which they have achieved twice).

On the other hand, South Africa have struggled since that final defeat. They lost 3-0 to the West Indies in Tarouba, while their series against Ireland ended 1-1 in Abu Dhabi. The defeat in Durban extends this run.

One thing that helped South Africa dominate the T20 World Cup was the excellent cohesion of the entire group. That’s one thing they’ve been missing in the last few T20Is. Their captain Aiden Markram has struggled with form, while they have also missed a crucial point from their key players in the eleven.

South Africa, now trailing 1-0 in the four-match series, will be desperate to get back to winning ways at a venue where they have picked up three wins in four games, including one against India in the last one Year. Can they do that?

Form Guide

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

In the spotlight: Gerald Coetzee and Arshdeep Singh

While all the other South African bowlers were taken to the cleaners in the first T20I, Gerald Coetzee was the only one who gave any semblance of control. He was fiery, produced good bounce and had the Indian batsmen on their toes. According to ball-by-ball data from ESPNcricinfo, 14 of his 24 deliveries were either short or short, which helped him take wickets. The surface at Gqeberha is likely to help him improve his bowling style.

Arshdeep Singh has been one of the key reasons for India’s glorious T20I run in 2024. He has played just 15 matches and has already taken 29 wickets, the second-most for a player from a full member country this year. He also has some records in sight in Gqeberha. Arshdeep is currently fourth on the list of most T20I wickets for India with 88 and has a chance to move past 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 of taking the record for most wickets taken by an Indian pacer in a calendar year, currently held by Bhuvneshwar, who took 37 wickets in 2022.

Team News: Will India give Ramandeep his debut?

Nqabayomzi Peter looked out of form in the first T20I and was replaced by fast bowler Ottneil Baartman. Reeza Hendricks missed the first T20I due to illness and is likely to return to the top spot when fit. It remains to be seen whether he will replace Ryan Rickelton or Patrick Kruger, who had a tough outing in Durban – both with bat and ball.

South Africa (probably): 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Aiden Markram (Capt), 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 a bit surprising that India fielded three spinners in Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy. In Gqeberha, where the surface is likely to result in more pace, they could look to bring in Ramandeep Singh, who can play the role of finisher and provide a few medium-pace overs. India is unlikely to make any changes to their batting technique.

India (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 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

Place and conditions

There is a bit of rain in the air in Gqeberha but it is unlikely to affect the game. The surface is likely to offer plenty of space for fast bowlers with good bounce and carry. The temperature is expected to be in the low to mid 20s Celsius.

Statistics and interesting facts

  • Hardik Pandya, who currently has 87 T20I wickets, has a chance to overtake Arshdeep (88), Bumrah (89) and Bhuvneshwar (90) and move to second place on India’s all-time T20I wicket-takers list.
  • Sanju Samson became only the fourth batsman to score consecutive T20I centuries in Durban. No batsman has scored three consecutive centuries in T20Is so far
  • Samson’s strike rate of 180.66 is the highest of any full member batter in 2024 with at least 300 runs
  • India have an excellent T20I record against South Africa in South Africa: seven wins and three defeats in ten games

Quotes

“When you play against an opponent like South Africa we know the energy they bring and they have a really great team who play their cricket really aggressively. We just have to respect them and do what we’re known for.” We’re world champions at the moment, so I think we have to play like that and just do what we can and keep trying to dominate in this format, what we did last a year.”
Sanju Samson says India will continue to be tough with the bat regardless of the opposition

“We were just in the final of a T20 World Cup. Now there is a new team. There’s a World Cup coming up the following year, so we need young talent. There’s a lot of talent, we’ve seen that. It’s simple. “The guys need experience, need to improve their skills and we’re good to go.”
Gerald Coetzee doesn’t think too much about South Africa’s recent loss of form

Ashish Pant is an editor at ESPNcricinfo

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