ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 21: SA vs AFG – South Africa Predicted Playing XI

The South Africa team has, at last, got some points against their name courtesy rain. Their previous encounter against the Windies was washed out and the Proteas are now placed last second on the points table. This is the least they’d have expected before the start of the tournament and there are several amends they’ve got to make as they proceed further in the tournament.

In their next match, though, South Africa will be taking on Afghanistan. The team will be eyeing their first win of the tournament if the rain doesn’t play spoilsport. The management is yet to give a few updates on the injuries of some players. Yet, they will look to maintain the winning combination and will not fancy too many changes to their playing eleven.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for South Africa:

Openers (Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla)

Quinton de Kock has blown hot and cold in the tournament thus far. After the 68 in the first game against South Africa, he seemed to have struggled slightly. He got off to a start against Bangladesh but got out for 23. In the match against India, he failed to make an impact and was dismissed for a single-digit score. There is a great responsibility on the wicket-keeper batsman and he needs to be more consistent.

The form of Hashim Amla has been the biggest concern for the Proteas. He is one of the most experienced players in the team and should look to get big scores. Amla has been slightly tentative against the swinging ball and the lack of confidence is clearly showing. Though he is just one good knock away, it could come any time soon.

Middle Order (Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (C), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller)

Aiden Markram is likely to make it back into the eleven to strengthen the batting order. He scored 45 against Bangladesh and looked good. However, he will only be a regular feature in the side if he maintains the consistency. If he gets an opportunity in this match, it will be a crucial innings for him and he must make it big. Faf du Plessis will then bat at number four.

He is the in-form player for his team and should look to lead from the front. Du Plessis must capitalise on the starts and should look to stick around till the end of 50 overs. Rassie van der Dussen, who has been the most impressive in the last five ODIs, will have a massive responsibility at five. David Miller has performed reasonably well in whatever opportunities he’s got and thus should hold onto his spot in the team.

All Rounders (Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris)

Both Andile Phehlukwayo and Chris Morris have been amongst the wickets and have done a good job. In the game against India, Phehlukwayo tried to dig deep and play a big knock. However, he missed out and got out for just 34 runs in that game. He will want to better his performance this time around and help his team win the match.

Morris also played really well with the bat and performed much better than he did in recent times. He should use this confidence and look to make it bigger in the next match. Morris was also extremely good with the ball. In his 10 overs, he bowled three maiden overs and conceded just 36 runs. He was unfortunate to have bagged only one wicket in that game against India.

Bowlers (Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Beuran Hendricks)

Kagiso Rabada is the leader of this bowling attack and bowled his heart out when he faced India in the last match. He created several chances including the one of Rohit Sharma. However, these opportunities didn’t really go his way and he was rather unlucky. But against Afghanistan, the pacer will look to hurry the batsmen and dismiss them all for paltry scores.

Imran Tahir has also done well and picked some crucial wickets. Beuran Hendricks, who is brought in as a replacement player, should get another opportunity. He was in the playing eleven for the game against Windies but didn’t have the chance to prove his prowess.