SA vs NZ

Key Features –

1. Rassie Van Der Dussen once again showing his consistency in ODIs with a yet another half century. He was unbeaten at 67(64) and took the total to a 241 in 49 overs (DLS).

2. Hashim Amla gave a good start to the innings and scored 55(83) after the loss of Quinton De Kock and Faf Du Plessis early on in the innings.

3. David Miller and Aiden Markram also supported Dussen and Amla by scoring in the 30s to take the total to a 241.

4. Kane Williamson and Jimmy Neesham built a good partnership of 57 after quick wickets of Guptill, Ross and Latham to steady the innings. They ended up scoring 106(138)* and 23(34) respectively. Also, to add to the misery of South Africa was Colin De Grandhomme’s powerful strokes which ended up resulting in a score of 60(47).

5. Lockie Ferguson was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand bowling a spell of 3/59(10). Chris Morris was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa bowling a spell of 3/49(10).

6. Too many chances put down by South Africa of Williamson and Grandhomme later on though their ground fielding was top-notch to say the least. The dropped chances were a big reason for South Africa to have given away a confirmed win to New Zealand who were on the verge of their first loss in this tournament.

Post-Match Analysis –

1. New Zealand has now played 5 games with 4 wins and 1 N/R, topping the points table with 9 points and still undefeated. On the other hand, South Africa has played 6 matches with 1 win, 1 N/R and 4 losses, certainly the second team to be eliminated from the tournament after Afghanistan.

2. Lockie Ferguson is the leading wicket taker for New Zealand in this World Cup with 11 wickets and looks in fine form along with the likes of Boult and Henry to support him.

3. Tom Latham isn’t in greatest of forms with scores of 0(4), 13(18) and 1(4) in the three games he’s batted in. On the contrary, Tom Blundell had an amazing outing with the bat in the warmup games but unlucky not to get a spot in the XI.

4. Rassie Van Der Dussen has been really consistent in the middle order for South Africa and is proving to be the pillar for their middle order batting when their wickets fall early on in the innings with scores of 50(61), 41(38) and 67(64)* in the last 3 games.

5. South Africa play Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia in their next 3 respective matches with the knowledge of them not qualifying for playoffs, thereby, giving a chance to the players who haven’t gotten a chance to play much in this tournament like Pretorius and Shamsi.

6. Faf Du Plessis has lost his consistency in this World Cup and hasn’t been doing really well which is one of the primary reasons for South Africa’s failure in this tournament since Faf is one of their most consistent and reliable batsmen at the No.3 position who can turn the match to their favour in no time.

7. New Zealand play West Indies next and if they win, they book a spot to the playoffs with 11 points.

8. The Next 3 days might just see 3 teams qualifying for the playoffs if all three Australia, England and New Zealand win their respective matches against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Indies respectively.

Up Next –

Australia vs Bangladesh

Looking at Shakib Al Hasan’s consistency with both bat and ball, and the way the team played against a quality bowling attack of the Windies chasing down 322 in just 41 overs, it’s surely not going to be a cakewalk for the Aussies, even though they are the favourites for the encounter tomorrow.

It’s going to be all about getting Shakib out early on in the innings, for the Aussies to have a complete edge over Bangladesh for the win.

If Australia win tomorrow, they are going to book a berth in the playoffs being the first team to qualify for the playoffs of World Cup 2019, which means a complete chance for them to go for their 6th title!

Tamim Iqbal is one of the crucial players for Bangladesh and he would want to regain his form tomorrow not letting the game slip away from them so easily with Shakib and Liton down the order to support him later on.

Bangladesh might surely try to give a tough contest to Australia and would want to continue their winning momentum. On the other hand, Australia are with 4 wins in 5 games and would like to get the playoff ticket tomorrow itself without delaying it further or giving Bangladesh a chance to qualify.

Probable XIs –

BAN – Tamim, Sarkar, Shakib, Liton, Rahim, Saifuddin, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek, Mehidy, Mortaza, Mustafizur

AUS – Warner, Finch, Smith, S Marsh, Maxwell, Stoinis, Carey, Starc, Cummins, Behrendorf, Richardson

Possible Replacements –

1. NONE for Bangladesh after a convincing victory against West Indies though bringing Rubel Hossain in for Mosaddek or Mehidy won’t be a surprise depending on the pitch conditions and what the team decides to do.

2. Khawaja has scores of 15(20), 13(19), 42(39), 18(16) and 10(20) in the 5 games which show that he’s been struggling to find form in this tournament and hasn’t been able to build his innings after the start he’s got. On the other hand, Shaun Marsh is coming at No. 5/6 which is not his usual position to bat in and bringing back Stoinis who is fit now, in for Khawaja would give Marsh his ideal position to bat in with Maxwell and Stoinis as their all rounders to strengthen their batting and bowling in the middle overs. Hence, the only replacement of Stoinis coming in for Usman Khawaja should happen.