India vs South Africa | 2nd T20I | Fantasy Tips | Possible Playing XIs | Match Prediction – Who will win?

After a comfortable win in Thiruvananthapuram, India take on South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday. The Men in Blue have a great opportunity to win their first home bilateral series against South Africa; the Proteas have played three bilateral series in India, winning one and drawing two. 

The big picture

India have played just one T20I in Guwahati before. The Barsapara Cricket Stadium wicket offers a thin grass carpet, making the Powerplays crucial. Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh offer excellent seam position and ball movement that can blow up the South African top order, as it did in the last game. 

Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma have struggled in India in nine innings, having scored just 229 runs between them. The exclusion of in-form Reeza Hendricks can prove costly. Hendricks could replace Rossouw, who has been slightly out of form. 

India’s bowling concerns continue to grow as they pray for Jasprit Bumrah’s speedy recovery. Mohammed Siraj has replaced Bumrah in the Indian squad for the bilateral series against South Africa. 

The fast-bowling unit looks slightly inexperienced. However, it has all the capabilities of delivering solid blows, especially with the new ball. India are expected to be unchanged for the second T20I on Sunday.

Match details

Match: India vs South Africa
Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Date: 2 October 2022
Time: 07:00 PM IST
Where to watch: Star Sports Network | Disney+ Hotstar

Pitch report & Toss

The wicket will assist the seam bowlers. It will be challenging to score early in the innings, and batters will have to acclimatise before going for the big shots. The Guwahati wicket is expected to have thin green grass, which will make the toss extremely crucial. The side winning the toss will most likely opt to bowl first. A lot depends on how the top order starts. 160 looks like an on-par score. 

Probable Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi

Head-to-head

Total played: 21

India won: 9

South Africa won: 11
No Result: 1
Home wins for India: 4
Away wins for South Africa: 5

Clean hitters

India: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Aiden Markram

Death-over bowlers

India: Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel
South Africa: Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje

Fantasy team

Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Wayne Parnell, Aiden Markaram, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Arshdeep Singh

Prediction

The wicket is expected to ease out as the match progresses. Top-order batters of the chasing side will change the course of the game. I am backing the chasing side to win on Sunday.