South Africa have won the toss and have elected to field first against India in the second T20 International at Dafabet St George’s Park in Gqberha on Sunday afternoon.
The Proteas were humbled by 61 runs in the opening match of the four-match series by 61 runs thanks mainly in part to a scintillating 107 by Sanju Samson from just 50 deliveries.
Suryakumar Yadav’s men are on such a roll, that they have won 22 of the 23 T20’s they have played this year and are currently on an 11-match winning streak. The hosts have had completely different fortunes since losing to India in the T20 World Cup final.
Having lost 3-0 to the West Indies and then drawing 1-1 with Ireland, Aiden Markram’s charges will be hoping to turn things around the friendly city after the hammering received in Durban midweek.
Marco Jansen was the only bowler spared of blushes in the first outing, claiming 1-24 in four overs. Keshav Maharaj (1-34) and Gerald Coetzee (3-37) conceded 71 runs between them in eight overs while Nqaba Peter (3-0-35-1), Patrick Kruger (2-0-35-1) and Andile Simelane (2-0-27-0) were all put to the sword.
Samson’s majestic work with the willow saw him smash 10 maximums along with seven boundaries. What made the job so much easier for India was the fact that Samson received exccelent support from Yadav (21 off 17) and Tilak Varma (33 off 18).
None of the South African batsmen took the challenge to the visitors, with Heinrich Klaasen top-scoring with 25 from 22 balls. Ryan Rickelton (21) and Coetzee (23) scored at healthy rates but the likes of Markram (8), Tristan Stubbs (11) and David Miller (18) all flattered to deceive.
The Proteas will need to elevate their game seriously if they are to prevent India from equalling their best run in T20 Internationals – 12 straight victories.
SOUTH AFRICA: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter
INDIA: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Varun Chakravarthy
