India Tour of South Africa: South Africa vs India, 2nd ODI Match Preview

On Tuesday, December 19, at St George's Park in Gqeberha, South Africa, South Africa will play India in the second One-Day International (ODI) of India's visit to South Africa, 3 ODI Series 2023. 4:30 PM IST is when the match will begin. In the ODI series, the Proteas and the Men in Blue have played one encounter, which India won. Arshdeep Singh, an Indian bowler, was named Player of the Match in the opening game of the series. 

The night before the opening ODI in Johannesburg, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh had dinner together and talked about South Africa during the Pink ODIs. About how brutal they become and "how they hit" as their kits go from green to pink in the words of Arshdeep.

Therefore, it is understandable that the left-arm pacer was a little taken aback by South Africa's 116 all-out, given that the Indian bowlers had a completely different plan in mind. St George's Park in Gqeberha has a balanced track for its pitch. In the last 20 games played at this location, the first innings scoring has averaged 216 runs. Since the side chasing has won most of the games played on this field, both teams will seek to chase after winning the toss. At this location, pacers have claimed 80% of the wickets. Therefore, it would be wise to add pacers to your fantasy team.

We anticipate that the pitch will continue to help the pacers based on the current statistics. Under Aiden Markram, the ODI captain filling in for Temba Bavuma, South Africa had a bit of a false start, but Markram is expected to take over as captain in the long term. Like most modern leaders, Markram advocated for "positive batting" following the eight-wicket loss, but he also urged his men to make "smart options" After the game, KL Rahul asked his players something that was not like anything else. He didn't need to since he was simply "happy" to have a victory under his belt, especially considering that this was the first ODI following the heartbreaking World Cup.

When: SA v India, 2nd ODI, 19 December 2023, 4:30pm IST

Where: St George's Park, Gqeberha

Factors to Consider: The Gqeberha pitch is generally balanced, offering assistance to both bowlers and batsmen. The weather is expected to be pleasant, aiding high-scoring encounters. However, a bit of rain is expected. 

The pressure will be on India to level the series, while the Proteas will be aiming to clinch it early and gain the upper hand. Both teams will need to adapt to the different conditions and pitch compared to Johannesburg to emerge victorious.