South Africa vs England 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Johannesburg: 5 Proteas players to watch out for

The first match of the T20I series went South Africa’s way.

South Africa and England face each other for the second and final Twenty20 International (T20I) match of the series at Johannesburg. England are currently touring South Africa and have already played a four-match Test series and a five-match One-Day International (ODI) series. While England won the Test series 2-1, South Africa won the ODI series 3-2 after being 0-2 down after one stage. The first match of the T20I series went in South Africa’s way and they will look forward to win the next one and complete a whitewash, while England will try to make a comeback and level the series. Before the series decider, here are five South Africa players to watch out for: FULL  CRICKET SCORECARD: South Africa vs England 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Johannesburg

AB de Villiers: No wonder, the South Africa cricket team depends on AB de Villiers the most. It was de Villiers’ unbeaten 101 that helped his side clinch the victory in the ODI series decider and claimed the series. But the first T20I missed the usual fireworks from the cricketer’s bat as he scored only seven runs. As another series decider approaches, his team and fans will surely want de Villiers to score big once again. South Africa vs England 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Johannesburg, Preview: Hosts target series whitewash

Kagiso Rabada: With 9 wickets from the last 4 ODI matches and 22 wickets from the 3 Tests he played, Kagiso Rabada is certainly the next big thing of Proteas cricket. The bowler, apart from wickets, has displayed some superb spells that mark him as an exceptional talent and the South Africa bowling would seek his brilliance to win the final match of the tour. Rabada got a solitary wicket of Jason Roy in the first T20I and will definitely like to increase the count.

Faf du Plessis: The T20I skipper remained the highest scorer for his side in the first T20I, which helped the Proteas win. Instead of going for big shots, du Plessis played a sensible innings, hitting only a single boundary along the way. The player did not score many in the ODI series. Will he be able to play a captain’s knock in the last match?

Imran Tahir: A pillar of current South Africa bowling attack, Imran Tahir has to be one of the players to look out for in the upcoming T20I. Tahir bagged four wickets in the first T20I, which included the wickets of Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales. Tahir had earlier got six wickets in the last two ODIs and is expected to repeat his performance in this match as well.

Hashim Amla: The South Africa opener is in having a form oscillating constantly. Though he scored a match winning 127 in the third ODI against England, the rest of the series did not see much of his batting brilliance apart from a half-century. In the first T20I, Amla scored 22. Will he be able to get back to form in the second T20I?

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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