South Africa vs India, 2nd ODI - Match Predictions

A tremendous century from skipper Virat Kohli earned India a famous win at the Kingsmead completely against the fiery South African contingent. This left South Africa in splits and their quandary got intensified as their skipper Faf du Plessis has been ruled out of the entire tour due to an injury. Aiden Markram is all set to take up the leadership responsibilities in his absence.

Touted as one of the finest Indian ODI sides ever, this team absolutely man-handled every opposition that has toured the country in the last couple of years. This tour was going to be a serious test and in the last two games, the final Test in Johannesburg and the first ODI in Durban, Kohli’s troops upped the ante big time.

The hosts didn’t give their 100% in the previous game and fell 20-30 runs short of the total they would’ve been comfortable with. They handed the all-important momentum to India by serving it on a platter and in the second innings, it was a one-sided show. The newly-minted skipper would love to change the dynamics of this side, but that won’t get any easier against this Indian team.

Pitch Report

A solid batting deck was expected for the previous game, but that wasn’t the case. This time around, Centurion is highly likely to lay a sportive track. They would ensure the pitch is not on the drier side, a factor which helped the Indian spinners a lot in the previous game. The last few games have been all high-scoring in Centurion, so don’t be surprised if something similar happens tomorrow (February 4).

Playing Combinations

South Africa

Khaya Zondo might finally get his first International game in du Plessis’ absence. It’s an interesting choice to appoint Markram as the captain and this is a clear indication that they’re expecting this decision to be fruitful in the long-run. He will have some great assistance from his senior teammates like Amla, Duminy, and Miller.

Zondo might open the innings with Quinton de Kock and Amla would take Faf’s number 3 spot. The remaining batting order is expected to maintain the same with Markram, David Miller, JP Duminy and Chris Morris in the middle order. They are also likely to field the same fast bowling quartet with Morris, Phehlukwayo, Rabada, and Morne Morkel taking the onus on themselves. Tahir will once again be the lone spinner.

Probable XI: Jean-Paul Duminy, Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel, David Miller, Imran Tahir, Khaya Zondo, Chris Morris, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (C), Kagiso Rabada, Andile Phehlukwayo

India

Why change a winning combination would be India’s strategy for the next game. Although Kohli does like to alter the lineup before every game when it comes to the longest format, he doesn’t follow the same ideology in the ODIs. Dhawan and Rohit, as usual, will be opening with Kohli coming in at three.

Rahane was excellent with the bat last game and he’d accompany Dhoni, Pandya and Jadhav in the middle order. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah had a decent outing, but it was the spinners who dominated the show. Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, and Kedar Jadhav once again will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of this game.

Probable XI: MS Dhoni (wk), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the game:

Probable Top Performers

Andile Phehlukwayo (South Africa) | Virat Kohli – (India)

Timing of the match: 1:30 pm IST, 8:00 am GMT, 10:00 am Local Time

Broadcast Details

TV – Sony Six, Sony Ten 3 (Hindi Commentary)

Live streaming – SonyLIV

The prediction is for India to win the game after a hard-fought tussle.