India will look to start strong and take the lead in the two-match Twenty20 series against South Africa. The series was initially a three-match T20I series but has now been reduced to two following the washout in Dharamsala on Sunday. The first T20I game, at HPCA Stadium, was abandoned without even the toss taking place due to inclement weather and persistent rainfall leaving both sides one game short in their preparation for the upcoming 2020 T20I World Cup in Australia. Both sides will look to begin the new season with a victory after a disappointing ICC World Cup 2019. Meanwhile, Indian captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and elected to field first with South Africa handing debuts to three players. South Africa Vs India, Live Cricket Score 2nd T20I Match.

The Cricket World Cup in England was disappointing for India, who topped the league stage but were knocked out in the semi-finals, but for South Africa, it was nothing short of a disaster. The Proteas led by Faf du Plessis won just three of their nine games and were out of the contention for the final four halfway through the competition. India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I 2019, Key Players: Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Quinton de Kock and Other Cricketers to Watch Out for in Mohali.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini.

South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w/c), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Bjorn Fortuin, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.

They are looking for a new beginning and have already bid adieu to stalwarts Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir and JP Duminy following CWC 2019 and to add their inexperience, South Africa will also have a new captain in Quinton de Kock for the T20I series against India. De Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Kagiso Rabada are the most experienced players in the Proteas team.

For India, it will be normal business. They have selected the same set of players that played against the West Indies in the T20I series, which included Deepak and Rahul Chahar, Shreyas Iyer and Krunal Pandya. The management, once again, left out spin duo Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal and are seemingly looking ahead of the two for the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia.

But unlike South Africa's in-experienced contingent, India have pretty experienced and solid players in both the batting and bowling departments. They are led by run-machine Kohli in batting and by the always ready Jasprit Bumrah in bowling. India also play 14 T20I matches - including this one - before the 2020 T20 World Cup, which is five more than what South Africa will be playing before they travel to Australia in search for their maiden World Cup title.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 18, 2019 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).