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In the absence of regular captain Temba Bavuma, South Africa's stand-in skipper Keshav Maharaj won the toss and elected to bat first in the second ODI against India in Ranchi on October 09 (Sunday). India captain Shikhar Dhawan announced at the toss that the hosts rang in two changes to their playing XI from the 1st ODI. Star all-rounder Washington Sundar, who replaced injured Deepak Chahar in the squad, returns to international cricket after a gap of eight months while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed was also included in the playing XI.
The visitors also made two changes with Bavuma and Tabraiz Shamsi, who were Maharaj said 'didn't wake up feeling too well this morning', were replaced by Reeza Hendricks and Bjorn Fortuin.
India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson(w), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan
South Africa (Playing XI): Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj(c), Bjorn Fortuin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
In the first ODI, Team India's lethargic attitude on the field was once again exposed as clinical South Africa registered a nine-run win in the first ODI against the Men in Blue to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Shikhar Dhawan-led India are now staring down the barrel as the focus now shifts to the second ODI, which is going to be a do-or-die encounter for the hosts.
The ongoing ODI series in India offers little incentive to the fringe players who have missed the flight to Australia.
But with Deepak Chahar injuring his ankle ahead of the first ODI in Lucknow and his back troubling him again, it gives India plenty of soul-searching to do on Sunday.
Mohammad Siraj and Avesh Khan have so far failed to impress and that might open the door for uncapped Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar.
On the batting front, it will be important for Shreyas Iyer to score some runs under his belt as the top-order batter is among the reserve batters for the T20 World Cup.
But the biggest positive for India out of the second ODI was the performance of Sanju Samson, who has not been able to cement his place in the team seven years after his debut.
Samson's 63-ball 86 oozed maturity and offered a sense of calmness in the middle order as he took calculated risks in India's narrow loss.
The happy-go-lucky Shikhar Dhawan has already shown his leadership potential with a second stride in the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Dhawan will hope that he returns among runs to give the team a solid start, while the talented Shubman Gill will also look to reaffirm his credentials as an ODI opener.
Teams
India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Kumar, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed and Rahul Tripathi.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje and Andile Phehlukwayo.
