The covers came on at the JSCA Stadium on Saturday afternoon, some time after South Africa finished its training session. The drizzle thankfully didn’t last long.
Though some dark clouds lingered for a while, the day turned bright and sunny later on. India and South Africa must be hoping the weather stays like that on Sunday.
After rain claimed 20 overs from the first One-Day International at Lucknow on Thursday, the teams must be looking forward to playing a full match. The forecast doesn’t rule out rain completely, though, but things do not look as bleak as it did on the eve of the first of the three-game series.
India’s concerns
The weather wasn’t the only thing that may have worried the Indian team management at Lucknow. True, India lost only by nine runs, but for that superb knock by Sanju Samson, the margin would have been much bigger.
Granted, it is not the first-choice Indian team that is playing the series and it is up against a strong South African side. Still one could certainly count on Shikhar Dhawan’s men to bounce back in the second ODI.
Should they need inspiration to come back from a tough situation, they could think of the city’s most famous son, former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had figured in the last ODI played on this ground.
Need better effort
India will need to come up with better efforts in all three departments of the game against the Proteas, for whom the series is more important than it is for its rival. The South Africans have to collect the Super League points required for qualification for the next World Cup.
Despite the worryingly poor form of captain Temba Bavuma, the South African batting is in good shape, with Quinton de Kock, David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen all putting runs on the board at Lucknow.
As for bowling, the excellent pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Wayne Parnell were backed well by Keshav Maharaj’s left-arm spin.
Dhawan & Co. will have to apply themselves better against this quality attack. It will be interesting to see if the in-form batter Rajat Patidar gets his India cap.
Setback
The bowling received a setback with seamer Deepak Chahar ruled out of the series with a stiff back and has been replaced by Washington Sundar. Shardul Thakur, who performed creditably with both bat and bowl in the first ODI, may not mind more support from his colleagues — bowlers and fielders.
The teams (from)
India: Shikhar Dhawan (Capt.), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (Capt.), Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi.
Match starts at 1.30 p.m.
