Gqeberha, Dec 12: South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to field first against India in the second T20I of the three-match series at the St George's Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday.

The opening game of the series was abandoned due to rain at Kingsmead in Durban on Sunday. The sell-out crowd had to walk back to their homes as the rain gods didn't allow the coin to be tossed.

India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad was unavailable for selection for the 2nd T20I due to illness.

Speaking at the time of toss, Markram said every game is important to fine-tune preparations for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

"We are going to bowl first, been under the covers for most of the day, so I would assume it would move around a bit. Each game becomes important for us to fine-tune things before the 2024 T20 WC, hopefully, we can start well today. From my point of view, it's about understanding if someone needs a rest. No debuts today," he said.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said they were happy to bat first.

"Very happy to be here and happy to know there's some cricket around. We were confused about what to do, but now we are very happy to bat first. It's an opportunity for everyone playing this game. World Cup is still 5-6 months away. Just enjoy yourself is the message to the team." he said.

Read: Sports News 

South Africa (Playing XI): Matthew Breetzke, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Gerald Coetzee, Lizaad Williams and Tabraiz Shamsi.

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar. (ANI)