SA v Eng 2nd T20I Preview: England seek a positive end to the tour

South Africa is leading the T20I series after a thrilling opener at Cape Town. England must have felt little dejected to have narrowly missed out on a victory after being in the game till the last over untill Chris Morris heroically snatching the game away from them.

It was a bowler’s game at Cape Town. Firstly, Imran Tahir dazzled with his fine display of leg-spin bowing. His mixtures of leg breaks and googly proved to be very tough for the English batsmen to handle. Then came the bowling pair of Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes who put forward a performance, which can be easily said to be the best of their T20 career.

However, New Wanderers, Johannesburg has been a high-scoring venue and bowlers will have to pull their socks up to face the highly charged bat wielders. After winning the ODI series coming back from 0-2, the home side would like to complete their retaliation for the Test loss by lifting the T20 cup as well. But, at the same time, the Poms will also not let the Proteas get away with the series that easily. Expect a sizzling finish to the series.

South Africa:

The batting was ordinary and none of their batsmen could sustain till the end while chasing a modest target. The bowling unit did their part well though. The Proteas will like Imran Tahir to carry on with the performance with the World T20 fast approaching. He will be their trump card not only for the upcoming match but for the near future as well. Faf du Plessis hinted at changes and it could be that Farhaan Behardien replacing Rilee Rossouw middle order. Otherwise, the same unit is expected to take the field.

England:

England had a very bad day batting wise last game. They would have been in deep trouble had Jos Buttler and the tail enders not hung around and contributed the vital runs. Bowlers did a commendable job. Ben Stokes, Chris Jordan, Moeen Ali, and Adil Rashid all were fantastic. Reece Topley and David Willey must try to get the early breakthroughs to set up things for the rest of the bowlers. The bigger concerning factor for them would be facing spin. They looked weak against the sharpness of Tahir. And, with the World T20 to be played in the sub-continent, they would not want to have a spin trauma in their minds.

Probable XI

South Africa: AB de Villiers (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (C), JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, David Wiese, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Kyle Abbott, Imran Tahir

England: Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

Wanderers has been a venue of run fests. therefore, the pitch is expected to be a featherbed.

Stats and trivia

• The highest successful T20 chase came just over a year ago at the Wanderers, as West Indies overhauled South Africa’s 231 with four balls to spare.
• England’s one previous T20 in Johannesburg ended in a one-run Duckworth-Lewis win over South Africa.
• More T20 hundreds have been made in defeat at this ground than any other – Chris Gayle scored 117 in the opening match of the 2007 World T20 and du Plessis made 119 against West Indies last year.
• Morgan is set to equal Broad as England’s most-capped player in the format, while Alex Hales needs 39 runs to overtake Kevin Pietersen as England’s second-leading run-scorer.