Live Cricket Score, India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I, Cuttack: India take on South Africa in Cuttack
India, after losing the first T20I in Dharamsala against South Africa by seven wickets, have all to play for in Cuttack on Monday. The hosts need a win in the fixture to keep their campaign in the three-match series alive. The visitors on the other hand would like take an unassailable lead, and make the third T20I mere formality. Catch the live scores and live updates from India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I here. (Full Coverage: South Africa in India)
Live Cricket Scorecard: India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I
Live updates (Time in IST, newest on top)
The build up
DJ forces MS Dhoni to quit practice midway
Live Cricket Score, India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I: MS Dhoni with Suresh Raina during a practice session. (Source: Reuters)
The DJ at the Barabati Stadium got his timing wrong. No sooner did MS Dhoni begin his stint at the nets, than the DJ pumped up the volume. An agitated India captain sent across the message to turn it off. An unmindful DJ continued to play the music. This, in turn, forced Dhoni to leave the nets.
For maximum impact, AB gets to be opener
Live Cricket Score, India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I: AB de Villiers smashed a brisk fifty in the opening T20I. (Source: Reuters)
AB is the best batsman in the world in this form of the game. He bats 360 degrees and when he gets going, he can give the best bowlers an inferiority complex. He, however, had opened only once in 59 T20 internationals prior to the series against Bangladesh in July this year.
India’s bowling missing a vital cog in the wheel
Live Cricket Score, India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I: Mohammed Shami’s unavailability meant India’s inexperienced medium pacers found it difficult to defend 199 on a placid Dharamsala pitch.
Maybe it was a little surprising to see debutant Sreenath Aravind bowling the last over on a nippy evening in Dharamsala. But MS Dhoni didn’t have other options. He had already bowled out his more experienced bowlers, and in any case the match was all but over by then.
