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NEW DELHI: Yet to truly impose himself in the shortest format, Shubman Gill will be eyeing a meaningful breakthrough on home soil when a confident India aim to tighten their grip over South Africa in the second T20I on Thursday.

With only a travel day separating the first two matches of the five game series, Gill won’t mind diving straight back into the middle in search of a solid score.

India brushed South Africa aside in the opener but Gill’s modest returns since his t20 comeback in the Asia Cup remain a point of debate.

Gill under pressure to find rhythm

After an impressive stint leading the Test side in the UK, Gill was brought back into the t20 structure.

Despite Sanju Samson and his Punjab teammate Abhishek Sharma performing well at the top, the management placed strong faith in Gill as an opener. Samson was pushed out of the starting eleven and Gill has since struggled to secure his place with consistent runs.

The Test and ODI captain can naturally fill the anchor role once played by Virat Kohli in t20is but India’s aggressive blueprint, backed by batting depth till number eight, leaves limited room for a conservative role.

Gill cannot unleash in the powerplay the way Abhishek Sharma does and must find an approach that suits his tempo.

Besides Gill, captain Suryakumar Yadav also faces scrutiny after a patchy run over the past year.

In a few months’ time Suryakumar will lead India’s World Cup defence at home and with that added responsibility the runs he contributes become vital ahead of the ICC spectacle.

India unlikely to change winning combination

In the cooler conditions of New Chandigarh, India are expected to retain the same eleven. Hardik Pandya, returning from injury, reaffirmed his importance as a top tier all rounder.

His 28 ball 59 shifted the game on a sluggish surface and it took him only one delivery with the ball to make an impact.

The team selection also suggested that India are unlikely to field both frontline bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav together as they prefer ensuring batting depth till number eight.

Arshdeep got the call in the first match and once again delivered early breakthroughs alongside Jasprit Bumrah.

South Africa seek quick recovery

South Africa will hope for a drastic improvement after being shot out for 74 while chasing 176.

There is hardly any time to dwell on the heavy defeat and that may work in their favour.

“Nowadays in t20 cricket, there’s very little time to pause and take everything in. The main issue was not building partnerships or settling after early wickets. We will have short discussions,” said skipper Aiden Markram.

New venue set for its first men’s T20I

The stadium is preparing to host its first ever men’s t20 international after staging two women’s ODIs in September.

During the last IPL, pitches here varied drastically with totals ranging from above 200 to as low as 101.

Stands named after Yuvraj Singh and Harmanpreet Kaur will also be unveiled during the match.

Squads

India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donnovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Reeza Hendricks, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Ottneil Bartman.

Match starts at 7pm IST.

(With PTI Inputs)