Wounded India Aim to Bounce Back in Second T20I Against South Africa

Handed a defeat in the first Twenty20 International, a determined India will look to plug loopholes in their bowling and bounce back in the second T20 against South Africa in Cuttack on Monday. (Mahendra Singh Dhoni Slams Umpiring in First T20I)

     

It's an unfamiliar situation for India to start a home series on a losing note, and the manner of the defeat in Dharamsala would put the hosts under tremendous pressure, especially the bowlers. (Mahendra Singh Dhoni Scores a Fifty in Captaincy)

     

Back after a break of three months, the onus would be on skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bring the team out of the rut and ensure India get back to winning ways. (Faf du Plessis Praises Bowling Effort in Win)

     

Unlike Dharamsala, the conditions are expected to be ideal for Dhoni's men here and the third T20 in Kolkata as the surface is likely to be low and slow in nature. However, rain and thundershowers are predicted for the next couple of days. (JP Duminy Says Important for South Africa to Start Long Tour with a Win)

     

The stadium was under a pool of water after rain and thundershowers in the afternoon when the team landed in Bhubaneswar.

     

Going into tomorrow's match, there are concerns over the ground conditions. The Met department has forecasted a few spells of rain in the next 48 hours and possibility of a curtailed match cannot be ruled out.

    

In the series opener, Rohit Sharma's maiden T20I century in an entertaining stroke-play along with Virat Kohli's 43 meant India could not have asked for more from their batsmen who posted 199.

But even their best was not sufficient as the bowling came a cropper, barring the four overs of Ravichandran Ashwin.

     

Chasing a target of 200, Hashim Amla (36) and AB de Villiers (51) laid the solid foundation before JP Duminy (68) and Farhaan Behardien (32) shared an unbroken partnership of 105 that saw the South Africans through with two balls to spare.

     

Axar Patel is under pressure to maintain his spot for the second T20I and Amit Mishra might take his place.

© AFP

Duminy virtually won the battle in the 16th over when he smashed three successive sixes off Axar Patel's bowling, snatching 22 runs in that over.

     

It's no secret that Dhoni prefers Axar Patel over Amit Mishra for the left-arm spinner's hard-hitting capabilities lower down the order.

     

But, Mishra is on a high after his 15 wickets from three matches in Sri Lanka and Dhoni may have a cutting edge in the slow conditions here. Mishra and Ashwin bowling in tandem may sound a good option.

Ashwin was deceptively brilliant and got vicious turn as he looked dangerous. The offspinner also showed great control with de Villiers in full swing after completing his fifty.

     

Quick to notice that de Villiers was charging down the track, Ashwin cleverly bowled a slower one and de Villiers missed the line completely.

     

Post-de Villiers, the strategy shown by the match winning pair of Duminy and Behardien was to see Ashwin through and unleash against Axar, something that worked for the visitors.

     

In de Villiers, South Africa have one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world and somebody who pushes any bowler into a panic-stricken mode with his 360-degree hitting range. His penchant for moving around the crease can unsettle any bowler and the key would be to bowl smart and with accuracy, like finding yorkers.

     

But the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sreenath Aravind, who made his debut at Dharamsala, struggled to find the toe-crushing yorkers, a big weapon in T20 scheme of things.

     

After Axar's poor 16th over, Bhuvneshwar conceded a six and a four in the first two balls of the penultimate over, giving Aravind only 10

runs to defend in the last over.

      

Cut to India's batting, and one would rue the poor finishing especially after Sharma and Kohli's launchpad.

     

India were racing towards a total of around 220 with Sharma and Kohli's 138 partnership in 72 balls for the third wicket when the duo fell in space of two runs to Kyle Abott and South Africa managed to keep the hosts under 200.

    

Thereafter, India scored 41 runs in last five overs and Dhoni's slide in strike rate over a period of time will be a cause of concern.

     

While in bowling, Mishra looks a better bet than Axar, in batting, Ajinkya Rahane, who has been impressive at any batting position, may be a better proposition than Dhoni's preferred choice of Ambati Rayudu, who was run out for zero in the last match.

    

But it remains to be seen whether Dhoni sticks to his preferred combination or experiments with the playing XI.

In the bigger picture ahead of the World Twenty20 in India next year, the match in Dharamsala can be a reality check for the hosts who have not played much T20Is in recent past, four compared to South Africa's 11 post World T20 in Bangladesh last year.

     

Teams:

     

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c/wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Amabati Rayudu, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sreenath Aravind, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra.

      

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers (wk), JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abott, Marchant de Lange, Imran Tahir, Quninto de Kock, Eddie Leie, Albie Morkel and Khaya Zondo.