After defeating South Africa in the first ODI, India is now the favourite to win the series. Given the fact that AB De Villiers and Faf Du Plessis will be away due to injuries enhances India’s chances even further. Today the second ODI will be played at The Centurion.
In the first ODI we saw a brilliant knock by Virat Kohli as he smashed his 33rd ODI hundred. Ajinkya Rahane top showed his class and played a handsome knock of 79. In the bowling department the young spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 3 wickets and 2 wickets respectively.
It looked like a balanced and there’s no reason why India would want to change the playing XI with which India played the Durban ODI.
Here’s the predicted XI for India for the second ODI
1. Openers
Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan
2. Middle Order
One Down: Virat Kohli
Two Down : Ajinkya Rahane
Three Down: MS Dhoni
Fourth Down: Kedhar Jadhav
After the last ODIs Knock Ajinkya Rahane is a must have in the playing XI. Ajinkya Rahane played a handsome innings of 79 from 86 balls. It would not make any sense to make him sit out. Kedhar Jadhav like the first ODI might be preferred to Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey as he forms the sixth bowling option.
3. All Rounders
Hardik Pandya
He’s India’s Premier all Rounder. He would make a handsome batsman in the lower middle order and the fifth bowler of the team.
4. Bowlers
Yuzvendra Chahal
Kuldeep Yadav
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Jasprit Bumrah
The most perfect balance of spin and pace. There’s no reason why India would want to stir any changes in the bowling combination.
With the same playing XI as in Durban India is most likely to win the second ODI and take a great lead in the series. If India gets its second straight win the series today then it would be almost impossible for the Proteas to stage a comeback.
