South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to bowl first in the second T20I of the three-match series against India, in St George's Park, Gqeberha, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. In a decision that surprised many, India left out Ravi Bishnoi, who was recently crowned the world No. 1 T20I bowler, in favour of left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav. (Match Blog | Streaming | Key Battles | 1st T20I Highlights)
Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was left out of the XI too. Meanwhile, India opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was unavailable for selection due to illness and Shubman Gill came into the side in his place. Tilak Varma, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj also made their way into the XI as Axar Patel and Avesh Khan were left out of the line-up.
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said batting first was "completely fine". He added: "We were confused about what to do. Very happy to bat first. It's an opportunity for everyone who is playing the game. The World Cup is around 5-6 months away. Have told the boys to enjoy themselves."
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Explaining the rationale for his decision to field first, Markram said: "The pitch has been under covers for most of the day. We'll prefer to chase."
Speaking on the larger context, the RSA skipper added, "Our preparation has been good, great group, so hope we can get things underway. From our point of view, some of the all-format guys need rest. We have depth around the country, and the guys will come in and hope to perform."
After relentless rain washed out the first T20I, it seemed like downpour in Gqeberha will impact the toss in the second game too. But even though there was a steady drizzle before the toss, it thankfully subsided just in time as Markram spun the toss in the middle. However, the threat of rain does loom large for the rest of the day.
The Suryakumar Yadav-led India are fresh from a 4-1 triumph over Australia at home, and will be raring to replicate the feat in challenging South African conditions.
Playing XIs
India: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Mukesh Kumar
South Africa: 1 Reeza Hendricks, 2 Matthew Breetzke, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Lizaad Williams, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi
