India dominated the 1st T20I at the Bull Ring, and are 1-0 ahead in the series as the action moves to Centurion. Both teams have already played three matches at Super Sports Park, and out of those three the hosts have won the test match and the visitors have won the two ODIs. The way India has been playing, they'll be looking forward to wrapping up the series in Centurion itself.
On the other hand, the inexperienced South African side will try to give their best and live to fight another day. The youngsters will definitely try to make the most of the opportunity, and try and make a name for themselves.
Another run feast can be expected as the ball flies quite well at the Super Sports Park. The pitch is expected to take a bit of turn, but few maximums can be expected from both the sides as the low air pressure of the high veld will help the ball fly into the stands.
#1 Pitch
The pitch has been the biggest factor in the series so far because if the tracks turn the visitors are expected to win 9 out of 10 games against any side. Indians have been more at home during this series and it is hard to understand why the hosts provided tracks which are tailor-made for this dangerous Indian side.
The track is expected to be on the slower side and should assist the spinners. Fast bowlers who bowl cutters will also be difficult to hit. The track will be much better to bat on under the lights as a bit of dew can come into play later in the evening, and a thunderstorm is also predicted during play.
#2 Toss
The toss is going to be very crucial in this game, and the side winning the toss should opt to field first taking into account the dew factor. The toss will be important for the hosts as the visitors have a dangerous spin attack which can run through the middle order. Their bowlers will face a lot of difficulties defending under lights and with rain predicted it's going to be more difficult to defend. The ball will come on a lot better under the lights, and defending a total at the high veld is going to take some doing.
#3 Weather
The highveld has received quite a bit of rain in the recent past and this is also expected to play a part on Wednesday evening as well. The conditions are going to be overcast for most parts of the day and a thunderstorm is predicted later in the evening. There is no doubt that it is going to be a bowl first kind of a day.
#4 Indian camp
Performance of the middle order is a bit of a concern for India, with the likes of Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, and M.S. Dhoni not in the best of touches. Till now the top order has done all the scoring, but somehow if the top order fails India is going to be in a spot of bother.
With the track expected to turn unlike Johannesburg, Kuldeep Yadav, who was out with a thumb injury in the last game should be back in the side as the spinners are going to be the key to India's success. It's going to be a tough call to leave out Jaydev Unadkat who had a pretty good last game, but India should go with horses for courses and take the bigger picture into consideration.
#5 South African camp
The hosts have nothing to lose, and their youngsters should play freely without any pressure and expectation. Pressure will be on the likes of JP Duminy and David Miller who failed on a regular basis, and it has come to a stage where their place in the playing is in a spot of bother.
On the other hand, the likes of Junior Dala, JJ Smuts, and Reeza Hendricks really did well last time around and would look to continue the good work. As the track is expected to turn, Aaron Phangiso should replace one of the pacers and can prove to be handy with the ball as he is not the easiest of spinners to hit.
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