South Africa and India are gearing up to lock horns in the high-stakes second ODI at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur, on Wednesday. With India leading the three-match series 1–0, the second game will be an exciting encounter. The opening clash provided everything as it went down to the wire before India secured a hard-fought win. As the teams prepare for the next showdown, India will aim to tighten their grip, while South Africa will hope for a win to keep the series alive.

India’s victory in Ranchi was built on the back of their senior-most batting pillars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The duo delivered performances that once again demonstrated their class. Rohit Sharma blazed a fluent half-century, surpassing Shahid Afridi to become the highest six-hitter in ODI history. On the other end, Kohli was at his best, smashing 135 and bringing up his 52nd century in ODIs. Meanwhile, India’s middle order will be expected to perform better after failing to capitalise on a great start in the first game. KL Rahul, however, scored a composed half-century. Youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal will be eager to leave his mark in this major game.

For South Africa, the mission is simple: win or watch the series slip away. They fought hard in the series opener, but the lack of performance at the top hurt their chase. Senior players Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram will need to step up after failing to give the side a rollicking start in the first game. Positively, Matthew Breetzke and Dewald Brevis performed well, but their efforts were not enough to put the side on course for a win. Overall, South Africa will need greater collective discipline to challenge in-form India.

Head-to-head

Matches - 95

IND won - 41

SA won - 51

No result - 3

India probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad/Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

South Africa probable XI: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c) Aiden Markram (c), Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman