India vs South Africa 2nd ODI Predictions - In-form Kohli to crush Proteas attack again

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 02 Dec 2025

Share

Simon Lewis 02 Dec 2025

Share this article

Virat Kohli hit seven sixes in his 120-ball 135 in the 1st ODI.
Matthew Breetzke top-scored with 72 off 80 balls against India.
Can India secure the three-match series by beating the Proteas in back-to–back ODIs?

Expired

Virat Kohli hits out against South Africa in the 1st ODI (Getty Images).

India vs South Africa 2nd ODI Predictions

India hammered the South African attack on a delicious track for batting and then cracked open the Proteas top order, leaving them in disarray. South Africa’s middle–order and tail refused to give in and batted brilliantly to get within three big hits of a win. South Africa have plenty of batting power, but India’s stronger top order definitely shifts it for me.

India’s Virat Kohli has scored 43, 74* & 135 in his last 5 innings.
India’s Rohit Sharma has scored 73, 121* & 57 in his last 3 innings.
South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke has scored 39 & 72 in his last 3 innings.
South Africa’s Marco Jansen has scored 93 & 70 in his last 2 innings.

Head-to-Head

India have won four and lost one of their last five ODIs against South Africa, including winning the last two matches in a row.

India Form

India beat South Africa by 17 runs to secure back-to-back ODI wins and notch up three wins from their last five ODIs.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continued their rich vein of form by adding 136 for the second wicket against South Africa in 18 overs. KL Rahul added a powerful 60 with three sixes and Ravindra Jadeja poked 32 off 20 balls to post a daunting 349/8 off their 50 overs.

Harshit Rana’s great recent form (2/49, 3/21 & 2/47) continued in the 1st ODI as he picked up two early wickets to push the Proteas firmly on the back foot. Kuldeep Yadav (4/68) broke the key early partnership and followed up with another two wickets to squeeze the Proteas out of the match.

South Africa Form

South Africa have lost four of their last five ODIs after losing the series decider against Pakistan in early November before losing to India in the 1st ODI at the end of December.

South Africa’s bowlers had a rough afternoon, but to their credit none of them took a pasting – the five bowlers were kept the on-fire India batters to an economy rate of between 6.00 and 7.50, which was a magnificent performance on that plumb track. Four bowlers each took two wickets, with Ottneil Baartman (2/60, econ 6.00) returning the best figures.

Matthew Breetzke (72 off 80) and Tony de Zorzi (39 off 35) rescued the Proteas from 11/3. Marco Jansen (70 off 39) and Corbin Bosch (67 off 51) hit out powerfully to take the Proteas to within a big sniff of a win, only to fall 17 runs short.

India and South Africa Team News

Although India’s ability to post big scores is undoubted, their match-winning secret lies in the back-up provided by their bowlers, with Harshit Rana taking 10 wickets in his last four white-ball matches.

"I think a lot of credit to Harshit also for taking the early wickets because I think otherwise, in so much dew, they would've found it very easy to score runs," said India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak after the 1st ODI. "He was moving the ball well, hitting the right area early in the innings because the Kookaburra only swings for the first four or five overs and I think he made the most of it."

Proteas skipper Aiden Markram acknowledged the impact of the top order failing to fire, but heaped praise on the rest of the batters for taking the chase to deep.

“Great to watch guys do their thing and never lose belief. All of us were quietly hopeful. Top order falling was defining. Still felt like chasing was the best way to win, but the top order fell early. The top order need to get through the swinging ball, but Bosch and Jansen allow us to bat deep. They've done well with the bat in the recent past. We want to play smart.”