Can South Africa take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe when they two teams meet in Bloemfontein on Wednesday?
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Proteas as they took a 1-0 lead in their three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe. JP Duminy and Wiaan Mulder steered the hosts home after a poor collective showing from the top and middle order.
The teams move from Kimberley to Bloemfontein for the next instalment where Zimbabwe require a better performance with the willow if they’re to keep the series alive.
South Africa vs Zimbabwe | Wednesday 3 October | Manguang Oval, Bloem | 13:00
To Win Match
South Africa 1/20
Tie 35/1
Zimbabwe 10/1
South Africa
It’s a pity that a relatively new-look South African top and middle order couldn’t replicate the performance of the bowling attack in Kimberley. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi were fantastic up front with Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phelukwayo and Imran Tahir all chipping wickets and tidy performances themselves, ultimately restricting the visitors to 117 all out.
Unfortunately, an inexperienced top four with only 25 ODI caps between them struggled to get going in difficult batting conditions. 13-1 in the third over soon become 58-4 before the end of the 15th as Zimbabwe were given a bit of hope. Looking ahead, a more measured approach will be required against an attack that’ll have its tail up.
In terms of personnel, I’m not sure we’ll see too much tinkering. Perhaps Khaya Zondo could come into the middle order. The Hollywoodbets Dolphins skipper is far more likely to consolidate and accumulate than Christiaan Jonkey for example.
Other than that, Keshav Maharaj – who has been very much on the periphery of the limited-overs squads – could crack the nod. Whether Ottis Gibson wants to go into this match without a leg spinner is unlikely with either Imran Tahir or Tabraiz Shamsi to be preferred.
Zimbabwe
There’s no way Zimbabwe will be able to win a match on this tour unless they put in a complete team performance. They’d have been in with a sniff if their bowlers were able to defend 200. 117 simply isn’t good enough at this level with South Africa able to knock off the runs without too much trouble.
They’ll unquestionably need more from experienced campaigners like Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura. The latter two top scored on Sunday with 25 and 27 respectively but will need to contribute far more. Craig Ervine, Solomon Mire and Sean Williams will also need to contribute more meaningfully.
The visitors don’t look too shabby in the bowling department, although their cause was helped by tennis ball bounce on what was a strange wicket for the Diamond Oval. It’s also worth mentioning that the South Africans also benefitted from this with just about all of the Zimbabwean top order caught in the slips as they battled to deal with the bounce.
I don’t expect there to be any changes in the playing XI for Wednesday’s encounter. The XI that took to the Diamond Oval represent Zimbabwe at just about full strength. They’ll almost certainly get another crack at their more fancied neighbours.
Verdict: South Africa 1/20
Despite their batsmen not really coming to the party, South Africa still cruised to victory easily enough last time out. Don’t expect any complacency to creep into their game. There’s only one winner here.
Value Bet: Under 9.5 total sixes 17/20
Neither of these two sides are blessed with out and out power hitters with a one or two exceptions. 17/20 looks a fair price for fewer than 9.5 sixes – especially if Zimbabwe are put in first and capitulate to another sub-par total.
