Why Kagiso Rabada not playing today: Why is Sisanda Magala not playing today’s 2nd ODI between South Africa and England at Mangaung Oval?

During the second ODI of England’s tour of South Africa in Bloemfontein, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has won the toss and chose to bowl on what he considers as a “sticky” pitch.

“We’ll bowl first. The pitch looks to be on the sticky side and we’ll look to exploit that. It’s good for confidence to win at home. We have had a good chat and we want to keep challenging ourselves,” Bavuma told SuperSport at the toss.

England captain Jos Buttler, meanwhile, remained unperturbed at being asked to bat first on a pitch which he considers to be “good”. England, who haven’t tasted a lot of success in the ODIs lately in spite of being the world champions, will be playing a must-win match on Sunday.

“Looks like a good surface. So, happy to make the first use of that. We would like to play in a certain way, we’re committed to that. Looking forward to the game against a tough opposition,” Buttler told SuperSport at the toss.

Why is Kagiso Rabada not playing today vs England?

Despite winning the first ODI at the same venue on Friday, South Africa have made a total of three changes to their Playing XI. Readers must note that all the three changes are more of rotational changes due to a one-day gap between the first two ODIs.

As a result, fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Sisanda Magala and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi have been left out for all-rounder Marco Jansen, spinner Keshav Maharaj and fast bowler Lungi Ngidi. While Rabada had picked a couple of crucial wickets in the last match, Magala was the Player of the Match for dismissing the likes of Dawid Malan, Harry Brook and Moeen Ali.

ALSO READ: What is the highest successful ODI run-chase at the Mangaung Oval?

England, on the other hand, have made a couple of changes to their bowling department as all-rounder David Willey and fast bowler Jofra Archer have been rested for all-rounder Chris Woakes and pacer Reece Topley.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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