India-SA T20I: Rohit, Rahul help India get off to a strong start

By IANS

GUWAHATI: Rohit Sharma 43 off 37 balls and KL Rahul, who scored his 20th half-century, help India get off to a strong start after being invited to bat first by South Africa in the second T20I in Guwahati on Sunday.  India were 189/2 in 16.4 overs, according to the latest updates.

India have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after crushing the tourists by eight wickets in the opener at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Friday.

Earlier, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second T20I at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.

After winning the toss, Bavuma said pacer Lungi Ngidi replaces left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi in the playing eleven. “We will manage our energies really well. This one looks like a different pitch. We want to do the job with the ball and then the batters to finish it off. We had a few positives from the first game, Parnell and Maharaj showed good fight along with the bowlers which was a positive.”

India captain Rohit Sharma said his playing eleven is unchanged from the win in the T20I series opener at Thiruvananthapuram. “We would have fielded as well. Just want to come out, play some good cricket and entertain the crowd. We have never beaten these guys here and it’s gonna take a lot of effort from everyone to do that and we have come out prepared and pretty much ready for the game.”

Rohit admitted to not being sure of conditions in Guwahati, where heavy showers have been predicted for the evening. “Not too sure how the conditions will be. When I touched the pitch there was some stickiness and we gotta be a little cautious at the start. We got solid batting line-up and it will be a challenge upfront.”

If India win Sunday’s match, they will win a bilateral T20I series over South Africa at home for the first time.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi

(With inputs from Online Desk)

<br /> GUWAHATI: Rohit Sharma 43 off 37 balls and KL Rahul, who scored his 20th half-century, help India get off to a strong start after being invited to bat first by South Africa in the second T20I in Guwahati on Sunday.  India were 189/2 in 16.4 overs, according to the latest updates.</p> <p>India have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after crushing the tourists by eight wickets in the opener at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Friday.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Earlier, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second T20I at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.</p> <p>After winning the toss, Bavuma said pacer Lungi Ngidi replaces left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi in the playing eleven. “We will manage our energies really well. This one looks like a different pitch. We want to do the job with the ball and then the batters to finish it off. We had a few positives from the first game, Parnell and Maharaj showed good fight along with the bowlers which was a positive.”</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>India captain Rohit Sharma said his playing eleven is unchanged from the win in the T20I series opener at Thiruvananthapuram. “We would have fielded as well. Just want to come out, play some good cricket and entertain the crowd. We have never beaten these guys here and it’s gonna take a lot of effort from everyone to do that and we have come out prepared and pretty much ready for the game.”</p> <p>Rohit admitted to not being sure of conditions in Guwahati, where heavy showers have been predicted for the evening. “Not too sure how the conditions will be. When I touched the pitch there was some stickiness and we gotta be a little cautious at the start. We got solid batting line-up and it will be a challenge upfront.”</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>If India win Sunday’s match, they will win a bilateral T20I series over South Africa at home for the first time.</p> <p>Playing XIs:</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh</p> <p>South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.84 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad241053 " id="quads-ad241053" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.84 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="3250057321"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>(With inputs from Online Desk)<br />