It seems Team India management and T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav want to give Jitesh Sharma a longer rope before the T20 World Cup early next year; hence went with the same playing XI from the first T20I, leaving behind Sanju Samson again. That also meant, their wicket-taking option in Kuldeep Yadav was ignored for a second time in the row as well, for the Mullanpur match.
Kuldeep Yadav & Sanju Samson left out
In the first T20I, just about all the bowlers did their job, with them restricting South Africa to 70-odd runs, to take India to a 101-run victory. It was in fact a particularly memorable day for Hardik Pandya, who was returning after a quadriceps injury, after the Asia Cup.
He looked at his very best, as he first slammed 59 from 28 deliveries, and then went on to return with figures of 1/16 in two overs. India also stuck with second pace-bowling all-rounder in the team — Shivam Dube, who too contributed with the bat and the ball.
IND opt to bowl
As far as the toss is concerned, it was a rare occasion as Suryakumar Yadav won the toss after a while, after the Australia series, and opted to bowl first, on a venue which is likely to have plenty of dew. Surya said at the toss, “We will have a bowl first. There was already a little bit of dew over there, so I think bowling first would be a better option.”
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
