South Africa opt to bowl against India in second T20

Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage from the second T20I between India and South Africa in Cuttack. We wanted to bowl first today, dew being a factor. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina failed to impact much before the Indian tail was quickly cleaned up. They did not help their cause by a few poor running between the wickets which led to the run-outs of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Pitch report: There are lot of cracks on the pitch and looks completely different from the one in Dharamsala.

The tide started to turn a bit in India’s favor after the run out of Amla in the eighth over.

India opted for a three plus two seam-spin combination for the first game and barring off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin all the other bowlers conceded 10-plus runs an over. He was quick but Amla struggled to reach his crease before Mohit Sharma’s solid throw from square leg. Friday’s contest was India’s first T20 outing with their full-strength lineup for more than a year. First ball is hit towards mid on by Rohit for a single.

Faf du Plessis was quite happy to have called right again. We seemed learn how to work in the center overs of a T20 recreation. Du Plessis go in with Albie Morkel for De Lange. His fifty came off 40 balls and he needed only 22 more balls to get to the three-figure mark.

Thereafter, India scored 41 runs in last five overs and Dhonis slide in strike rate over a period of time will be a cause of concern.

Back after a break of three months, the onus would be on limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bring the team out of the rut and ensure India get back to winning ways. He finished the innings in style, hammering Abbott for a six. In India Rohit Sharma trumped outstanding performance after scoring 106 runs.

The South African bowlers have not been too impressive so far during this tour and will be under pressure to prove themselves.

Fans who watch the India vs. South Africa cricket match live online will see if India can do a better job exploiting South Africa’s soft points, something that Rohit Sharma said is a must if they want to win.

Raina joined his captain in the dressing room a short while later when he virtually gifted his wicket to leg-spinner Imran Tahir. One ball later, he played a scoop for leg-side boundary as India put on board 86 after half-way stage.

The South African is for certain that the 2nd T20 at Cuttack wouldn’t be a run-feast like the one the spectators witnessed in the collection opener.