New Zealand vs South Africa, 2nd ODI at Christchurch: Likely XI’s for Kane Williamson and AB de Villiers-led sides
New Zealand vs South Africa, 2nd ODI: Likely XI’s for Williamson and De Villiers-led sides
Where New Zealand and South Africa were busy preparing for the second ODI at The Hagley Oval in Crhistchurch, India witnessed the IPL auction 2017 on Monday at Bengaluru. Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult became rich on one end while the top ranked white-ball specialist Imran Tahir was not picked despite base price of INR 50 lakhs. New Zealand’s focus, in particular, will hope to bring the margin to 1-1 against South Africa who have struck 12 consecutive ODI victories. New Zealand fought hard in the first ODI at Hamilton; however, unbeaten match-winning knocks from AB de Villiers and Andile Phehlukwayo led them to yet another victory. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: New Zealand vs South Africa 2nd ODI
South Africa had their moments of slump and were put under pressure in the death overs. But de Villiers-led confident side continued their winning streak against New Zealand as well. South Africa will be playing their first international match in Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The last time they played in Christchurch was the Jade Stadium in 2004 that New Zealand easily won by 5 wickets with 29 balls to spare. As for New Zealand, they won the final Test against Bangladesh in the same venue a month ago. With the second ODI just a few hours away, let us have a look at the possible likely XI that both teams might ploy:
Top-order: The top 3 batsmen are the power house of New Zealand. Where Dean Brownlie returned to the side after three years and turned New Zealand’s fortunes around since the Australia series, one cannot forget Tom Latham’s form against Bangladesh in December 2016 in this very venue despite his slump in ODI performance recently. New Zealand’s skipper Kane Williamson is the side’s best player. He will be expected to come good. He has also surprised the batsmen being an occasional bowler.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s consistent top-order is where the chunk of runs flow. Quinton de Kock has already provided a fiery start to this series, taking the Man of the Match reward while Hashim Amla’s timely knocks has helped Proteas from precarious conditions. Faf du Plessis’ red-hot form can leave the opponents baffled. A century from any of these batsmen means South Africa are set for their 13th ODI win.
Middle-order: This part of New Zealand can be worrisome especially with South African spinners and seamers coming into attack at this point. Ross Taylor has already been excluded from the T20I squad, his ODI form of late has not inspired enough confidence either. The last match that Taylor played in Christchurch was in 2015 where he was unbeaten for 5 and did not play the next game against Sri Lanka. Trent Boult vs AB de Villiers and other key battles from New Zealand-South Africa, 2nd ODI
Neil Broom will be expected to repeat his Bangladesh show against South Africa while Jimmy Neesham’s 30-40 runs can be valuable in needful conditions. Colin de Grandhomme has been a boon for New Zealand in terms of an all-rounder. He has successfully slipped into the slot left vacant by Grant Elliott. Remaining unbeaten on 34 in the first ODI and his consistency in limited-overs cricket, can work in advantage of New Zealand in this crucial clash.
Considering Hagley Oval has seen scores going beyond 300-run mark previously, it will be a tailor-made pitch for the South African power-hitters. De Villiers is just 50 runs away from his milestone to fastest 9,000 ODI runs. And there can be no better occasion than Proteas first game in this venue. JP Duminy will need a gentle push to bring the demon in him alive. Being placed in an order that begins with de Villiers and ends with Chris Morris, Duminy will have to fire-up. Meanwhile, Morris is there to provide the perfect finish.
Lower-order: A bunch of successful all-rounders and bowlers is what makes a unit formidable against the opponents. Apart from being the go to bowlers for Williamson, Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee can combine their forces to play the big shots. Southee responds with nothing but the ball flying over the fences while Santner’s occasional boundaries can end the game for the Kiwis on a happy note. Being unfazed by the IPL auctions, Boult who was one of the top picks amongst the Kiwis, wants to just focus on the game as he speaking to ESPNcricinfo.com. Going by the pitch conditions, New Zealand might persist with Ish Sodhi in this game providing him another chance, despite being smashed by South African batsmen.
South Africa’s top and middle-order is enough to keep the lower-order away from scoring runs. Although Phehlukwayo had no luck with wickets in first ODI, but he was the match winner with his unbeaten 39. He will be expected to get some wickets and keep New Zealand on toes. Wayne Parnell shone in the series against Sri Lanka, being the leading wicket-taker with 11 wickets. Likely to play his first one against New Zealand, Parnell would be expected to continue his bowling expertise. Rabada who is already flying high being bid for INR 5 crore, will not want the IPL craze to hamper his performance and continue to create havoc over the Kiwis. Lastly, it all zooms down to Imran Tahir who for a change had a wicketless innings in the first ODI. Now what has the world No. 1 bowler got in store for the second ODI? Will we see him fly to South Africa this time? (we hope not literally)
Squads:
New Zealand Likely XI: Dean Brownlie, Tom Latham (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
South Africa Likely XI: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers (c), JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir