The second ODI of the series between South Africa and India will happen at St George's Park Stadium in Gqeberha, previously known as Port Elizabeth. The St George's Park's surface is known to be of good assistance to seamers and spinners. This will provide good entertainment for the fans.
India, known to bat deep in this format, will not take the South African bowling attack too lightly. The home team, who are reeling after the retirement of Quinton de Kock after the World Cup, in which they yet again crashed out at the semifinal stage, will want to make strong reinforcements in their squad.
South Africa have struggled to get an opener of the class of de Kock after his departure. One can expect that skipper Aiden Markram will be on the lookout for fresh faces. The Indian bowlers will not go easy on the Proteas' batters, and having good quality up top is necessary.
The absence of regular captain Temba Bavuma, who has been rested to prepare solely for the Test series, will also add a bit of burden to Markram himself. For India too, seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been omitted after they asked the BCCI for some rest.
This means both these teams have a host of youngsters in their rosters who will be keen on impressing the selectors and marking their spots. In many ways, both these teams select themselves, and the same will be the case here in Gqeberha. India will have an advantage, given the experience they have in their squad.
Probable Playing XIs
India: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c) (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger.
Key Players
Suryakumar Yadav: India's T20 skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who has relinquished his role to KL Rahul in this format of the game, will want to showcase to everyone why he is so highly rated in this format of cricket. Yadav's ability to play shots across the ground in a 360-degree fashion helps him and keeps him ahead of his competitors.
Tabraiz Shamsi: South Africa's left-arm wrist spinner showed the world exactly what he is made of in the World Cup held a few months ago. He will be another player keen to perform in this series. Shamsi offers something unique to the South African bowling attack. It will be interesting to watch what will happen when the Indians take him on.
Match Prediction
India, quite naturally, start as favourites. They have been better than South Africa in this game format for some time and will want to showcase their supremacy. India also can ensure that they do not let South Africa come on the front foot, and despite playing in challenging conditions, they will be expected to win.