After the first T20I in Durban was washed out by rain, the weather forecast for the second match at Gqeberha on Tuesday is not much better. With a high chance of precipitation, the threat of rain looms large over the series.
According to AccuWeather, the weather forecast for Gqeberha indicates a chance of rain during the afternoon of next Tuesday, with a 63% chance. The sky is expected to be covered in clouds, reaching up to 99 percent. The cricket match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. local time. It will be broadcast on Star Sports Network and streamed online on Disney+ Hotstar.
Atmospheric humidity is expected to be 74 percent and wind gusts of up to 54 km/h could influence playing conditions. As the day progresses, the chance of rain decreases to eight percent in the evening, the humidity remains relatively high at 76 percent.
India’s preparations for the 2024 T20 World Cup hit a stumbling block on Sunday as the series opener at Kingsmead, Durban, was abandoned unsuccessfully due to continued rain. With just five more T20Is remaining before the prestigious event in West Indies and USA, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side faces the challenge of finalizing their squad.
If rain floods the venue on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see if the ground staff can manage to cover the entire pitch. Notably, the lack of adequate covers at Kingsmead prompted legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar to criticize Cricket South Africa (CSA).
Gavaskar, speaking to Star Sports, chastised the CSA for not having enough covers to cover the entire pitch.
IND vs SA 2nd T20I Teams: Indian Team: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan, Mukesh Kumar, Washington Sundar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Kuldeep Yadav
South Africa team: Reeza Hendricks, Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen (w), David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottniel Baartman, Marco Jansen, Donovan Ferreira, Lizaad Williams.
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