India won the series opener in Ranchi
What’s the story
Raipur’s Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium is set to host the 2nd ODI of the three-match series between India and South Africa.
After a thrilling win in Ranchi, India aim to seal the series. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will once again have the limelight.
Temba Bavuma, who missed the opener, is back for SA, who have won the toss and elected to field.
Bavuma back for SA; Maharaj, Ngidi included
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (captain and wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna.
South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma (captain), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, and Lungi Ngidi.
Pitch report and streaming details
The pitch at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium is known to be slow, aiding medium-fast and slower bowlers.
Given the quality of pitches in this series, another high-scoring thriller is expected with a batting-friendly surface.
One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and stream it on the JioHotstar app/website (Start time: 1:30pm IST).
A look at head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, the two teams have clashed 95 times in ODIs. India have collected 41 wins to South Africa’s 51 (NR: 3).
On Indian soil, the two teams have met 33 times. India own 19 wins (L14).
Since 2006, India and South Africa have played 10 bilateral ODI series against each other with an even scoreline of 5-5.
Here are the top performers
The opening game saw Rohit become the batter with the most ODI sixes (352).
Versus SA, Kohli has scored 1,639 ODI runs at 68.29 (6 hundreds).
Kuldeep Yadav has 31 scalps from 14 ODI matches against SA at 16.58.
Matthew Breetzke averages a stunning 68.22 after 10 ODI games.
Quinton de Kock has returned 1,077 ODI runs against India at 51.28.
India continue to lose the toss
India have now lost the toss in 20 successive ODIs. The Men in Blue last prevailed in this regard during the 2023 ICC World Cup. According to Cricbuzz, the next-worst toss-losing streak in ODIs is 11 by Netherlands (2011-2013).
