South Africa v Australia, 2nd ODI, Preview: Battered Australia seek revival

Australia will be wary of the explosive South African batting line-up when they take on the hosts in the 2nd ODI at Johannesburg tomorrow. The Proteas completely dominated the visitors in the first game at the SuperSport Park.

Quinton De Kock scripted a one-man show to lead his team to a handsome 9 wicket win. Australia looked totally incompetent the other day. The South Africans look in hot form and the change of venue won’t matter much.

They will start out as favorites. But, the Australian are also no weak team. The one-sided opening game, in fact, has heated things up for the rest of the series as the world champions Australia will come out hard at the Proteas with vengeance in their mind.

South Africa:

Everything seemed perfect for South Africa in the opening game. Their bowlers did a commendable job and the batsmen didn’t really have to break any sweat because of Quinton de Kock’s master class. De Kock’s 178 from 113 balls – the highest ODI score ever made in South Africa- transformed the chase of 295 runs into an easy stroll in the park.

Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy, the other two batsmen who batted other than the opening pair, lost their wicket unnecessarily. The untested middle order must be ready to soak the pressure in case the top order fails to perform. They can be one in the side as Hashim Amla, who missed Friday’s match due to illness, may return. If he comes in then Rillee Rossow, who hit a fiery fifty in the 145 run opening stand with De Kock, will have to sit.

Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada, South Africa’s strike bowlers were off color in the previous game and should perform better. Andile Phehlukwayo was the star with the ball and the Australians will be wary of this bowler in the upcoming game as well.

Australia:

The Australia bowling was given a tough time by Quinton de Kock and his fellow mates. The second string Australian pace attack was shredded into pieces. However, that would not force skipper Steven Smith into making any big changes in the side as it will be too early to make such decisions with a relatively inexperienced side.

They have a tough challenge to face tomorrow. Fast bowler Daniel Worrall, Scott Boland, and John Hastings will hope for a fresh start. Adam Zampa and Mitchell Marsh would also like to erase the memories of the first ODI with a good performance in the upcoming game.

South Australia’s Joe Mennie and Victoria’s Chris Tremain are also in the squad but the chance of getting the debut game seems bleak as far as the current situation is concerned.

Probable XI:

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (WK), Hashim Amla/Rilee Rossouw, Faf du Plessis (C), JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Andile Phehlukwayo, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir.

Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith (C), George Bailey, Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Matthew Wade (WK), John Hastings, Adam Zampa, Daniel Worrall, Scott Boland.

Match Details:

Date: October 2, 2016
Start time: 10:00 local (0800 GMT)
Venue: Johannesburg

Stats:

• Quinton de Kock’s 178 in the first match at SuperSport Park on Friday was South Africa’s second highest individual score in ODIs
• South Africa achieved their third highest successful chase in that game .