India won the toss and opted to bowl first in the second T20I against South Africa. The hosts didn't make any changes from the team that won the opening game in Cuttack. Meanwhile, South Africa made three changes and Aiden Markram confirmed that the changes are more due to the rotation policy and no injury concerns. They included Reeza Hendricks, Ottneil Baartman, and George Linde in the playing XI as they hope to level the series.
South Africa are 179/4 after 18 overs. Arshdeep Singh will bowl the penultimate over of the innings.
Dewald Brevis departed for 14 runs off 10 balls. Axar Patel with his first wicket of the night. South Africa are ruining their chances of posting a strong total on the board. They are now 160/4 after 16.1 overs.
A heroic knock from Quinton de Kock came to an end. He departed for 90 runs off 46 balls. Jitesh Sharma's super reflexes found de Kock short of the crease. South Africa are 156/3
South Africa are 156/2 after 15 overs. Dube conceded nine runs in his second over.
17 runs off Hardik Pandya's third over. Quinton de Kock is on song in the middle as he is unbeaten on 88 runs off 43 balls. South Africa are 147/2 after 14 overs.
Varun Chakravarthy broke the partnership. Aiden Markram departed for 29 runs off 26 balls. He tried to clear the ropes for the third time in the over, but failed to time it. South Africa are 121/2 after 12 overs.
Okay, that was long. An over with 13 deliveries, which is the joint-longest over in a T20I game among full-member nations. He conceded 17 runs in the over. South Africa are 108/1 after 11 overs.
Four consecutive wides and in total, Arshdeep has bowled six wides so far in the over. Only two legal deliveries so far.
Arshdeep Singh bowled five wide balls in the 11th over. Only two legal deliveries so far. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
Axar Patel conceded 11 runs off the over. South Africa are 90/1 at the halfway stage. They would surely hope to get 220 runs in the first innings if not more. With plenty of batting still coming, the goal would be to improve their strike rate, especially when the Indian bowlers are struggling in the middle.
Hardik Pandya concedes nine runs in the over. South Africa are 79/1 after nine overs. They would be happy with the start but expect to bat with a higher strike rate as the conditions will only get better for the batters.
Quinton de Kock completed his half-century in 26 balls. He drove the ball well and got to the milestone with a boundary. It was his 17th half-century in the format. India can feel the pressure now.
Eight runs off Varun Chakravarthy's second over. It was a terrific over but the final delivery went for a boundary. South Africa are 70/1 after eight overs. Quinton de Kock playing on 47*
Hardik Pandya concedes eight runs in his first over. South Africa are 61/1 after seven overs. Quinton de Kock moves into his 40s.
Quinton de Kock smacked an unbeaten 34 runs off 18 balls as South Africa are 53/1 after six overs. Axar Patel conceded 12 runs in his first over. The goal would be to send de Kock back to the pavilion, or he could prove to be extremely dangerous.
Suryakumar Yadav introduced Varun Chakravarthy in the fifth over and he gave the breakthrough straightaway. Reeza Hendricks departed for 8 runs off 10 balls. The opener failed to decipher the speed as he was left castled. South Africa are 38/1 after 4.1 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah conceded 16 runs in his second over. Extremely expensive as the pacer conceded a couple of sixes as well. South Africa are taking good advantage of the powerplay. The visitors are 38/0 after four overs.
Arshdeep Singh conceded 12 runs off his second over. Quinton de Kock seems to be on song. South Africa are 22/0 after three overs. All eyes on Bumrah now as India eye for their first wicket.
Jasprit Bumrah concedes only two runs in his first over. South Africa are 10/0 after two overs.
South Africa started well in the second T20I. Eight runs were scored in Arshdeep Singh's over. There was a chance of a run-out of Reeza Hendricks, but Tilak Verma failed to hit the target. The visitors would hope to keep up with the momentum.
Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock open the batting for South Africa in Mullanpur. Arshdeep Singh has been handed the new ball. Time for the live action to begin!
"We will have a bowl first. There was already a little bit of dew over there, so I think bowling first would be a better option. This has always been a wonderful ground. When we played here during franchise cricket, and recently saw a women’s game also happen here, it was wonderful. And the first men’s game, I heard, is happening here - international, so very excited for it. I’m sure the crowd are also excited. It’s really important for the boys to understand their responsibilities and see what the team demands in that situation. They batted perfectly looking at the situation. 175 on that wicket, was a little over par. The way we bowled, I think it was a lovely effort. The balance which he (Hardik Pandya) provides in the team is amazing. The way he batted, the way he keeps calm on the ground when he’s batting, when it’s a pressure situation. And the way he bowled also; I think that’s more important. His overs are also really important for the side. The way he carried himself throughout the game, it didn’t look like he was injured. We go with the same team," Suryakumar said.
"Right in the centre of the ground, 68m square boundaries and 73m down the ground. Straightaway looks like a better surface to bat on than the last one. You look at the compactness at sight, looks like there’s a bit of a sheen on it, there are a few cracks and there is a bit of grass but it’s quite compact. It just looks that much better. Like that we’re on a big ground because it brings in so much. You can’t get away with mis-hits. For the batters, you get pockets to get 2s and 3s. It’s about conditions, dew probably comes in later. Want to ensure you know what you’re chasing. Average winning score here is 180. The cracks are not going to open up, it’s nice and cold here. Expect a lot of fours and sixes,” say Deep Dasgupta and Pommi Mbangwa.
South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
South Africa have made three changes to their playing XI from the previous game. Reeza Hendricks and George Linde are back, while Nortje has been benched. More update and playing XIs coming soon.
India are going with the same team that won the first T20I. This means no chance for Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar.
India have won the toss and have opted to bowl first
Yuvraj Singh is at the venue for the first-ever Men's international game at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. He is meeting the players as well and is having a laugh as well.
With winter already setting in, dew is certain to play a role, but during the IPL, four of the six matches played at the venue were won by the team batting first.
If Hardik Pandya manages to clinch just one wicket, he will become the first seam-bowling all-rounder to clinch 100 wickets and score over 1000 runs in the format. Only Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi and Sikandar Raza have achieved the feat in their career.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has 99 wickets to his name in T20Is. He is India's third-most successful Indian bowler in the shortest format, slightly behind Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah. He could be the third bowler to join the elite list of players with 100 wickets.
Mullanpur will host its first T20 international on December 11. It has hosted plenty of IPL games and Indian women's team, but has never hosted the men's side.
The surface in Mullanpur in New Chandigarh will heavily assist the batters. Dew is expected to play a major role and for the same reason, a high-scoring game is expected in the middle. Fielding first will be the ideal thing to do.
South Africa registered their lowest T20I total in the previous game. Will they make any changes to their playing combination? It would be tough on players if they drop anyone after just one game. But George Linde is good all-round option to be included in the line-up.
India are not expected to make any changes to the playing XI, after a dominant win in Cuttack. Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill's T20I form is slightly concerning, but even so, the team management is expected to back the same players for a few games to build a solid core for the T20 World Cup 2026.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the second T20I between India and South Africa in Mullanpur. The hosts registered a comfortable 101-run victory in the first T20I of the series and will be hoping to continue with the same momentum. For Proteas, it's all about batting a bit better as they were bundled for only 74 runs in Cuttack.
