The first T20 international between India and South Africa was a rollercoaster ride that only ended when JP Duminy hit that massive six in the final over of the match.
While India came crashing down, South Africa made a perfect landing from the ride, and the away team will want to have another similar outing in the 2nd T20I on Monday.
For India, it will be about putting on a good show with both bat and ball to tie this three-match T20 series.
Here is a quick look at how the match might pan out, if India bat first or second.
If India bat first: India did pretty well batting first in the last match, scoring 199 in their 20 overs, thanks largely to a wonderfully-crafted century from Rohit Sharma. Rohit is the ultimate example that in modern-day cricket, you don't need to bludgeon the ball to score runs at a rapid pace – it helps, yes, but it isn't necessary.
Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan will be key for India, if they do bat first again, and they need to set the tone for the innings, much like Hashim what-a-player-he-is Amla and AB gosh-he-is-a-scary-batsman de Villiers did for South Africa. If not for a run out in the first match, Rohit and Dhawan might have done that as well, and let's expect a big partnership from the right and left-hand duo.
Say, a score of about 72 in 7 overs, and then Virat Kohli walks in and takes about five balls to settle down, before using that bottom hand to great effect. Then the other opener falls, and in walks MS Dhoni – not Suresh Raina – with India needing a decent partnership to maintain the early momentum in the second half of the innings. The two India captains do just that, and instead of crumbling a little in the final five overs – like India seem to do so often -- Kohli, Dhoni and Suresh Raina go berserk (hey, why not be optimistic) to set an above-par total on the Cuttack wicket.
The reply from South Africa does not begin too well, as Amla falls to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, before Faf Du Plessis and De Villiers put on a partnership. South Africa stay close to the required run rate, making India's worries bigger, but then comes R Ashwin to change the course of the game.
De Villiers and Du Plessis' partnership is broken, with JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien (c'mon they cannot do it again, can they) falling soon after. India then pick up the win, despite some late hitting from David Miller.
If India bowl first: Amla and De Villiers get off to a quick start, forcing Dhoni to bring in the spinners earlier than he would have liked. With the pitch at the Barabati Stadium slower than the one in Dharamsala, Ashwin, Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh/Amit Mishra (if one of them plays) have an impact, which means South Africa are restricted to a score of around 1601-170, thanks largely to some late hitting from Miller (yes, him again).
India's reply is a little slow to begin with – say they manage only around 45 runs in the first six overs – but the fact that they have wickets in hand helps, with Kohli, Dhoni and Raina taking the team close to victory, before Ambati Rayudu wraps up the match.
Either way, India win.
Or at least, hopefully, they do, because it will keep the series alive.
