After clinch an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the first tie, Team India and South Africa will lock horns with each other in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday (October 2).
But a massive rain is likely to impede the second T20I. According to Accuweather, Guwahati is likely to experience some heavy thunderstorms, with three hours of rain expected. Guwahati city of India on October 2 (Sunday) will be 35° Celcius during the day and fall to 26° Celcius at night.
The stadium can accommodate around 39,000 people and the tickets at the Barsapara Stadium have been sold out for the match, but the fans are likely to be disappointed as doubt looms large on the second match. The last international fixture at Barsapara Stadium was an India-Sri Lanka T20I match on January 5, 2020, which was called off due to persistent rain.
The organisers, meanwhile, said they have put in place all arrangements to minimise time loss in the event of rain.
The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has imported two “extremely lightweight” pitch covers from the US. It already has around 20 covers at its disposal.
“These imported covers ensure that water or moisture does not seep into the pitch,” ACA secretary Devajit Saikia had said.
The average 1st innings total at the stadium in T20Is is 127 while the average 2nd innings total is 118. The stadium has witnessed 5 T20I games so far. The highest total ever recorded at the stadium is 160/4.
India recently played a match at Nagpur that was shortened due to rain. India beat Australia in a match reduced to eight overs a side.
Riding on Suryakumar Yadav's brilliant 33-ball fifty and Arshdeep Singh's match-winning spell of 3/32, India clinched the first match. However India have dealt with a huge blow ahead of the second T20I against South Africa as their pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20I series due to injury. Meanwhile, another star pacer Mohammad Siraj has been called as Bumrah's replacement.
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Umesh Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Shahbaz Ahmed and Mohammad Siraj.
South Africa's squad: Temba Bavuma (Captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
