Hendricks returns as South Africa bowl against unchanged India

South Africa chose to bowl vs India

South Africa will chase for the second match in the series under cloudy skies in Gqeberha in an attempt to put the brakes on India’s hot streak. The tourists have won their last 11 T20Is (including the T20 World Cup final) and a 12th victory will equal their best run. It will also ensure they cannot lose the four-match series.

India stuck with the same XI that beat South Africa by 61 runs on Friday, which meant allrounder Ramandeep Singh would have to wait for an international debut. All eyes will be on Sanju Samson, who has scored centuries in his last two T20Is. No batter has struck three in a row.

South Africa made only one change and welcomed back Reeza Hendricks, who missed the series opener with injury, Hendricks’ return will push Aiden Markam back to No. 3, and cost South Africa an allrounder. Patrick Kruger, who had a forgettable evening in Durban when he conceded 35 runs in two overs, was benched. The rest of the attack remained the same with two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Nqaba Peter and three seam bowling options.

Whether they all get an opportunity to show their skills will depend largely on the weather. A light drizzle began shortly after the toss and the covers were on the field with 20 minutes to go before the scheduled 4pm start time.

South Africa: 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Andile Simelane, 9 Gerald Coetzee, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Nqaba Peter

India: 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Varun Chakravarthy

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket