South Africa vs India 2018: India's probable playing XI for second T20I

The wave of euphoria that started off with the win in the third Test carried throughout the ODI series, and seems to be extending into the T20I series, as the Men in Blue have found their rhythm and are now in commandeering mode.

The first T20I saw the team combine to put up a thumping performance, with the batsmen walking in with the mindset of going berserk from the word go, and the bowlers maintaining their plans and sticking to them without any frills, especially Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Here's how the team could line up for the second T20I of the series:

Rohit Sharma walked into the middle and immediately started playing his shots in the first T20I. From the first over itself, Rohit was seen freeing his arms and walloping the ball around.

Known to be someone who takes his time to get going, Rohit's breezy knock was cut short by a steep delivery from Junior Dala. While his cameo got India going, the side would be looking for much more substantial contributions from him in the future.

Shikhar Dhawan was in an absolute belligerent mood in the first game, even sweeping pacers to the boundary ropes. The Protean bowlers, knowing Dhawan's proficiency on the off-side, kept cramping him for room, but Dhawan looked in no mood to stay quiet and pulled everything that came his way.

His brazen innings formed the spine of India's massive total.

Back in the Indian team following a much-talked-about comeback, Suresh Raina was greeted by a bouncer, his nemesis throughout his playing career. And Raina responded with a trademark swipe over cow corner.

He had come out with only one intention, of keeping the run-rate going, and moved around in the crease to get the maximum possible output. He looked in good nick in his first game for India since February 2017 and could be part of the T20I side in the future as well.

With Raina moving into the side, Virat Kohli demoted himself to the No.4 spot, a little late for him, especially in T20s. He responded with a quickfire 26 but was dismissed by Tabraiz Shamsi, his former-RCB teammate.

As a captain, he was smart with his bowling changes and kept the South Africans under check.

While MS Dhoni's batting performances have been on the wane in T20s, his keeping has stayed par with the best in the world. Coming in at No.6, Dhoni swung his bat around to gather a few boundaries, and, as a keeper, went past Kumar Sangakkara for the most dismissals in T20s.

When the ball is not doing much, Hardik Pandya feels the heat as a bowler: he was all over the place in the first T20I, spraying the ball on both sides of the stumps and not finding his rhythm. However, given the way the management backs him, his place is far from being under threat.

As is expected of him, he came in after MS Dhoni and scored a quick cameo to take the side past 200. The role seems to be ideal for him in the current line-up.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's knuckleball is being talked about everywhere due to its deceptive efficiency; the variation accounted for a majority of the victims in his five-wicket haul in the first T20I, the first Indian to pick up a fifer in all three formats.

He extracts natural swing off the new ball and has been in tremendous touch across formats recently.

Jaydev Unadkat, IPL's most expensive Indian in the auctions this year, felt the pressure of not being an international regular and was toyed with, in the first game. Apart from the wicket of Andile Phehlukhwayo, Unadkat failed to fire, going for 33 runs in his allotted quota of four overs.

With a reputation to keep intact now, after his IPL 2017 performances and the possibility of sneaking into the side as they develop their T20I team, Unadkat wouldn't want to let go of the opportunities he gets before the IPL.

Kuldeep Yadav was not part of the first T20I, but was the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series that preceded, picking up 17 wickets from six games. His clever variations are difficult to read even for the best of batsmen, and he can be a useful option for the game at Centurion.

The Indian bowling has been riding on the shoulders of two spinners in ODIs. While Kuldeep Yadav has been a revelation with his recent exploits, Yuzvendra Chahal has been silently making quite an impression over the last year and a half. His dexterity over his art, the ability to slip in quiet overs in the middle, and the spirit of always challenging the batsmen with aggressive bowling sets him apart.

That Jasprit Bumrah has been a superb find for India is a given, but the way he has improved himself on all fronts makes him a much-improved bowler from the raw, slingy bowler that he was, to begin with. He now has much more control over his game, and can slip in the yorker at will, along with a clever concoction of slower deliveries. He looked listless in the first game, however, conceding 32 runs from his four overs, but the ODI World No.1 bowler won't take long to get out of the minor rut.