IND Vs SA, 2nd T20I: St George's Park Gqeberha Pitch Report

Anurag Dasgupta

St George's Park, Gqeberha [Source: @MazherArshad/X.Com] St George's Park, Gqeberha [Source: @MazherArshad/X.Com]

The Suryakumar Yadav led Indian side were at their absolute best as they thrashed the home side, South Africa by a whopping 61 runs in the first T20I of the series. Sanju Samson's second T20I ton sealed India's fate as they won the match, rather comfortably.

Batting first, India posted a commanding 202/8. Samson scored his second successive T20I century and he got ample support in Tilak Varma as India breached the 200-run mark despite a late collapse towards the fag end of the innings.

In reply, South Africa were never really in the contest as they lost wickets in tandems and their batters threw in the towel. Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi scalped 3 wickets each as India took a 1-0 lead in the series. Now the caravan moves to Gqeberha for the second T20I, and ahead of the contest, we look at the pitch report for the St George's Stadium.

St George's Stadium stats and records in T20Is

Criterion
Data
Matches played4
Matches won batting first2
Matches won batting second2
Average 1st innings score (last 5 matches)128
Average 2nd innings score (last 5 matches)100

St George's Stadium Pitch Report: Batters Or Bowlers, Who Will Be More Successful?

The St George's stadium is known for its pace and bounce and the fast bowlers have traditionally enjoyed bowling at this venue. The extra bounce means pacers enjoy that extra zip which was missing in the last T20I match in Durban.

South Africa have quality pacers in their rank and expect them to come hard at the Indian batters in this venue. In the last 10 matches at this ground, fast bowlers have bagged 86 wickets, while the spinners have only grabbed 22, showcasing the true nature of the pitch. Hence, pacers will have a dream day on Sunday.

Players To Watch Out For At St George's Stadium

Sanju Samson

  • The Indian opener loves pace and extra bounce and has a good backfoot game which will help him to dominate the bowlers. Samson is on cloud nine at the moment and his new found confidence will help him to perform on Sunday.

Heinrich Klaasen

  • Klaasen failed to deliver in the first game, but with St George's Park suiting the fast bowlers, Klaasen will relish his chances on Sunday. Indian team doesn't really have any express fast bowler and hence, the Proteas finisher will look to take the attack to the opposition.