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The second T20I between India and South Africa will be contested in Mullanpur on Thursday, December 11. The Men in Blue clinched a thumping 101-run win in the series opener in Cuttack on Tuesday.
India have been in impressive form in the shortest format, but whether that is down to tactical superiority is debatable. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav have come under fire for some of their decisions in recent times, and it's safe to say that the hosts can certainly be more astute with their strategies.
India’s T20I squad for the South Africa series: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Hardik Pandya.
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South Africa's T20I squad for the India series: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Lutho Sipamla, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Tristan Stubbs.
On that note, here are three things India need to do right in the second T20I against South Africa.
#3 Mullanpur has been very unpredictable in recent times
A men's international game will be hosted for the first time in history in New Chandigarh on Thursday. The pitch has been unpredictable in the Indian Premier League, often assisting bowlers to a much greater degree than expected.
Mullanpur hasn't been a ground to produce copious amounts of dew, so India will be happy about that given their recent toss luck. However, it's important for them to not jump to conclusions regarding the nature of the surface, as they did in Cuttack to be reduced to two-down early.
The Mullanpur venue has thrown up a variety of conditions, and India need to be wary of that before deciding how to approach the contest.
#2 India should consider dropping Shivam Dube
Shivam Dube has rarely lost any T20Is as an India player, but it's hard to see how he fits into the current side. With Hardik Pandya serving as the third pacer, his bowling is an afterthought at best. And the left-hander also doesn't have his ideal batting position in the lineup.
More importantly, Dube's game seems suspect against both pace and spin. In the previous game, he couldn't take on a favorable matchup in the form of Donovan Ferreira and has fallen to spin far too many times in recent times. The tall southpaw has obvious weaknesses against high pace and hard lengths, too.
Picking one of Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana and Sanju Samson could augur well for India. In fact, even Kuldeep Yadav might not be a bad option instead of Dube, although that would be at the cost of batting depth.
#1 India need to test Dewald Brevis out with hard lengths
Dewald Brevis is arguably South Africa's most dangerous batter. He got off to a start in the previous game before falling to Jasprit Bumrah, and if he comes good, the Proteas will be able to take India's attack to the cleaners.
However, Mullanpur's long boundaries and fairly true bounce should allow the hosts to target Brevis with hard lengths. While the South African batter has made improvements on that front in recent times, he still has limited range behind square. If they bowl bouncers on the right lines, Brevis could struggle to get away.
Instead of feeding him spin like they did in the last game, India should target his shoulders with their fast bowlers.
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