The two full members of the ICC will battle it out in the second one day International in Bloemfontein tomorrow. Having won the first match, the hosts, South Africa will be keen to seal the series and make it 2-0. Zimbabwe on the other hand will be hoping for a better batting display from their batters especially Brendon Taylor who remains to be the best batsman of Zimbabwe. The two sides have met 38 times on ODI's and South Africa has won 36 times while Zimbabwe have only managed to win twice.
South Africa
South Africa are without their star players including Hashim Amla, Quinton deKock and the captain Faf du Plesis. Their absence was felt by the South Africa in the opening encounter as half of their side was back in the hut chasing a small total of 118. The likes of Aiden Markram, Elgar and Reza Hendricks will be expected to step up and score some runs. Middle order had a decent enough outing in the first match with the likes of Klassen and the captain Duminy getting some runs.
The bowling unit of South Africa is quite capable of destroying any opposition in the world and that is what they did in the first ODI when they reduced Zimbabwe to 117. Kagiso Rabada and Ngidi are both world class bowlers and will be expected to deliver in this crucial encounter. They will be tempted to bring in the veteran Dale Steyn at the cost of one of the all-rounders.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean team displayed a horror performance with the bat in the first match and were not able to put up a competitive score on the board. None of their batters were able to put up a show with the bat. Although Masakadza and Chigumbura got starts but they were not able to convert them. The top order of Zimbabwe has got some potential and they will be expected to score some runs and give their team a good start. Middle order comprises of Brendon Taylor and Sean Williams and both of them are quite capable of scoring big. There will be huge pressure on their shoulders as they are probably the best batters in the Zimbabwean side.
The bowling unit of Zimbabwe did well in the first match as they made it very tough for the hosts to get over the line. Barring Kyle Jarvis and Williams every bowler was among the wickets. They don't have a great bowling unit but if they keep things tight, they can cause trouble for South African batsmen. Kyle Jarvis is a very good bowler and he will be expected to make things hard for South African top order. They might slot in Tinashe Kamunhukamwe in the batting order but it remains to be seen who will make way for him.
Predict the score and win 10 SCR
This is a simple contest where all you have to do is just predict the score of the team which bats first. For example if South Africa bats first, predict their innings score and vice versa.
Here is mine:
South Africa : 326 ; Zimbabwe : 209
Rules of the contest
1. Only those will be eligible who comment before the first ball is delivered.
2. Upvoting this post is not necessary.
3. You can also add the reason why you think a particular team will score the number of runs you predicted (not compulsory).
4. If there is a tie, the prize will be distributed equally among the winners.
5. If no one will be able to predict the correct score, the prize will be given to the person whose prediction is close to the actual score.
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