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At the New Chandigarh Stadium on Thursday, cricket legends Yuvraj Singh and Harmanpreet Kaur received the honour of having stands named after them.Yuvraj, who was named player of the tournament in the 2011 ODI World Cup, and Harmanpreet, who led India to their maiden Women’s World Cup victory, celebrated the occasion alongside their loved ones and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Just prior to the second T20 International against South Africa, Yuvraj was observed delivering an inspirational speech to the Indian squad during their team huddle.The stadium already features a pavilion bearing the name of his former teammate Harbhajan Singh, and now Harmanpreet’s name adorns the stand opposite the sightscreen on Thursday.India, maintaining their unchanged lineup, won the toss and chose to bowl first against South Africa in the second T20I at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.The stadium is making history by hosting its first men’s international cricket match, becoming India’s 55th venue for international cricket. India leads the five-match series 1-0 and aims to extend their lead.“This has always been a wonderful ground. When we played here during franchise cricket, and recently saw a women’s game also happen here, it was wonderful, and it’s the first men’s game, I heard, that’s happening here — international, so very excited for it. I’m sure the crowd are also excited,” India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said at the toss. “It’s really important for the boys to understand their responsibilities and see what the team demands in that situation. They batted perfectly, looking at the situation. 175 on that wicket was a little over par. The way we bowled, I think it was a lovely effort.“The balance that he (Hardik Pandya) provides in the team is amazing. The way he batted, the way he keeps calm on the ground when he’s batting, when it’s a pressure situation. The way he bowled also, I think that’s more important. His overs are also really important for the side. The way he carried himself throughout the game, it didn’t look like he was injured,” added Suryakumar.South Africa have made three changes to their playing eleven. Reeza Hendricks, Ottniel Baartman, and George Linde have replaced Tristan Stubbs, Keshav Maharaj, and Anrich Nortje.“We would have fielded. Looks like a good wicket. Not a lot of international games here, but I hope to get a good score and put them under pressure. We have to make peace with the fact that we can have nights like the first game, and hope to make a better effort today. We’ll get feedback on scores after a few overs, not thought of it now,” said South African captain Aiden Markram.IND vs SA Playing XIs:India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Arshdeep SinghSouth Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Donovan Ferreira, George Linde, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, and Ottneil Baartman
