After picking up a dominating win against Pakistan, New Zealand will look to continue to build momentum ahead of the Champions Trophy. The Kiwis were handed a massive injury concern in the first game as Rachin Ravindra suffered a nasty blow to the head, though they will back themselves to be fine without him as they take on South Africa.
Ahead of the second ODI of the tri-series between New Zealand and South Africa, here are our match preview and predictions.
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New Zealand come into this game on the back of a dominating win against hosts Pakistan. They’re also the stronger team on paper given the injury and unavailability of key players for the Proteas for this series.
Team NZ had a stellar opening game of the tri-series as Glenn Phillips’s explosives set the hosts a huge target of 331. The Kiwis saw all their big names fire with the bat as Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell got crucial half-centuries before fireworks from Phillips and Michael Bracewell powered them to 330. With the ball, it was Bracewell with the key wickets early on before captain Mitchell Santner spun a web in the middle overs, setting up Matt Henry to clean up the tail. Will O’Rourke’s expensive spell would be the only concern for Santner, but the Kiwi captain knows his team had a near-flawless performance.
South Africa, on the other hand, are hamstrung with injuries, with some of their key players having also opted out of the series. Temba Bavuma is leading a relatively inexperienced squad and will have extra pressure on himself along with the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, Kyle Verreynne, and Wiaan Mulder with the bat. With the ball, Keshav Maharaj will be key in these conditions for SA, as will be Senuran Muthusamy, with Junior Dala leading the pace attack.
Taking place in Lahore again, expect lots of runs once again. We have New Zealand as the clear favourites to make it two wins out of two games in the tri-series.
Fantasy XI: Devon Conway, Temba Bavuma, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Heinrich Klaasen, Michael Bracewell, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Keshav Maharaj
Venue: Lahore
Winners Prediction: New Zealand
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