Second T20 vs SA in Cuttack Today; All Eyes on Captain MS Dhoni

Today’s second T20 in Cuttack vs South Africa is a must-win game for India after losing the first match by 7 wickets

Handed a defeat in the first Twenty20 against South Africa on Friday, a determined Indian team will look to plug the loopholes and equalise in the must-win second encounter against The Proteas later today in Cuttack.

I’m sure we will come back strong. Overall, there’s a room for improvement, I’m sure the guys have learnt from it and they will come back stronger. We have to do a lot of things right whether it’s batting or bowling, and come out all guns blazing.
– Rohit Sharma

Back after a break of three months, the onus would be on limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bring the team out of the rut and ensure India get back to winning ways.

Unlike Dharamsala, the conditions are expected to be ideal for Dhoni’s men tonight as well as in the third T20 in Kolkata as the surface is likely to be low and slow in nature with rains and thundershowers in past few days. Going into today’s match as well, there is concern over the ground conditions. The Met department has also forecast a few spells of rain in the next 24 hours and possibility of a curtailed match cannot be ruled out.

In the series opener, Rohit Sharma’s maiden T20I century in an entertaining stroke-play along with Virat Kohli’s 43 meant India could not have asked for more from their batsmen who posted their highest score of 199 against the South Africans.

But even their best was not sufficient as the bowling came a cropper, barring the four overs of Ravichandran Ashwin.

Chasing a target of 200-odd runs, Hashim Amla (36) and AB de Villiers (51) laid the solid foundation before JP Duminy (68) and Farhaan Behardien (32) in an unbroken partnership of 105 saw the South Africans through with two balls to spare.

One of the conscious efforts is to try and disrupt the bowling unit. The field always has to change, with fielders having to cover different sides of the boundary. The bowler has to change his line and length. JP has different strengths to what I have, and he has different weaknesses to what I have.
– Farhaan Behardien

In de Villiers, South Africa has one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world and somebody who pushes any bowler into a panic-stricken mode with his 360-degree hitting range. His penchant for moving around the crease can unsettle any bowler and the key would be to bowl smart and with accuracy, like finding yorkers.

But the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Sreenath Aravind, who made his debut at Dharamsala, struggled to find the toe-crushing yorkers, a big weapon in T20 scheme of things.

Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) has played quite a bit of late, Mohit has been a part of the team for a while now. (Sreenath) Aravind has just come in but he has been a proven character in domestic circuit. We cannot take credit away from seamers but the dew made it difficult. Overall, there’s a room for improvement.
– Rohit Sharma

There is, however, a bigger picture as well. Ahead of the World Twenty20 in India next year, the match in Dharamsala can be a reality check for the hosts who have not played much T20Is in recent past -- four compared to South Africa’s 11 post World T20 in Bangladesh last year.

(With inputs from PTI)