India vs. South Africa, 2nd T20: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview

South Africa took a 1-0 series lead in their three-match T20 series against India with a thrilling win on Friday.

Date: Monday, October 5

Start time: 7 p.m. local time; 2:30 p.m. BST

Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack

Live stream and TV info: Star Sports (India and Bangladesh), SuperSport (South Africa), PTV Sports (Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates)

Weather: AccuWeather.com forecasts a shower in the afternoon, but it should clear by the time the two teams walk out for the coin toss. It's going to be hot and sticky, though, with evening temperatures expected to be around 26 degrees Celsius.

Overview

Despite a brilliant century from Rohit Sharma in the opening T20 on Friday, South Africa won the opening T20 by seven wickets, with just two balls to spare. Chasing down 200 is something the Proteas can be really happy with, but they now have to make sure they continue that consistency and pick up some momentum as the Test series looms larger.

AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien deserve heaps of credit for their efforts, but the quick turnover means there is little time to bask in the win.

For South Africa, this tour offers the opportunity to try some new combinations and that’s exactly what they did in the opening T20. Although Quinton de Kock is back in the team after a brief loss of form, he did not play in Friday’s match. Instead it was AB de Villiers who opened the batting alongside Hashim Amla.

This is exactly the kind of experiment South Africa want to trial during this series. As South Africa’s best batsman, AB de Villiers should be facing the most balls. While Amla and De Kock have forged a formidable partnership in the one-day format, there is far less time to settle in T20s.

What will be interesting to see is if South Africa persist with De Villiers at the top and, if they do, how De Kock slots into the lineup if he regains some form.

South Africa’s bowlers will need to do much better in the second match. Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada showed some promise, but Marchant de Lange and Chris Morris were carted all over the park. Even Imran Tahir took a pasting. India’s bowlers, too, struggled on a day where the batsmen from both teams had a very good day out.

The Cuttack surface is likely to offer a little bit more assistance to the bowlers, but there has never been a T20 international played here before. Winning the toss and batting first might hold just a slight edge, but in T20s, anything is possible.

Key players

India

Ravi Ashwin was by far the best bowler of both teams in the first T20. Even on a surface where there wasn't too much assistance for spinners, Ashwin managed to claim figures of 4-0-26-1. On the Cuttack turf, he is likely to get a little bit of help from the track and will no doubt play a key role with the ball.

South Africa

AB de Villiers wasn’t the most impressive player in the first T20, but he did put in a pretty good effort. His role at the top of the order is crucial for South Africa. Setting a good foundation for other batsmen to launch from goes a long way to securing success in the shortest format of the game.

Squads

India

Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Rohit Sharma,Sreenath Aravind, Stuart Binny, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Suresh Raina, Mohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.

South Africa

Faf du Plessis, Khayelihle Zondo, Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada and Albie Morkel.