Australia are taking on South Africa in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin. The hosts entered the contest with a 1-0 lead, having clinched victory in the series opener at the same venue.

Mitchell Marsh’s reasoning behind choosing to field

After winning the toss, Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh chose to bowl first—a decision that raised eyebrows among some fans. Marsh, however, explained that the conditions from the previous game played a key role in his choice.

“We are going to bowl first. We saw a lot of dew in the last game. The wicket played the same in all 40 overs,” Marsh said at the toss, suggesting that chasing would be an advantage under such circumstances.

Why Josh Inglis and Nathan Ellis missed out

Australia made two changes to their XI. Josh Inglis was ruled out of the second T20I due to illness, paving the way for Alex Carey to take over the wicketkeeping duties. In the bowling department, Nathan Ellis was given a rest as part of workload management, with Sean Abbott stepping in to bolster the pace attack. Marsh praised his bowling unit’s display in the first match and expressed confidence in the revised line-up.

“I thought it was a great performance from our bowlers. Two changes—Abbott comes in for Ellis and Carey comes in for Inglis,” added Marsh.

South Africa also reshuffled their side, bringing in experienced batter Rassie van der Dussen for George Linde and handing Nqabayomzi Peter a spot in place of Senuran Muthusamy.

“We got two changes. Rassie comes in, Linde misses out. Nqabayomzi Peter comes in, Muthusamy misses out,” said Proteas skipper Aiden Markram.

Also WATCH: Fan pulls off brilliant one-handed catch while holding two beer cans during AUS vs SA 1st T20I

Playing XIs of both teams

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Nqabayomzi Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi

Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Cameron Green, Tim David, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Alex Carey (wk), Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

Also WATCH: Tim David smashes towering six onto stadium roof in AUS vs SA T20I opener