MATCH PREVIEW:
South Africa is going to play the decider match against England on Sunday, 24th of July, at the Leads, Headingley. Though South Africa had a great start in the series, England won the second match at Manchester, thus levelling the series by 1-1. The rain interrupted the play, reducing the overs to 29 each side. However, England managed to put a respectable score (201) on the board. But South Africa failed to hold their winning momentum, fell short of a massive 83 runs.
English strategy of aggressive batting cost them 5 wickets for just 72 runs. They were bundled out at for 201 runs. Apart from South African Skipper Keshav Maharaj (6.3- 29-1-4.83), it was Pretorius who owned the crown (6-36-4-6). Shamsi has been preety good too, but Nortje was indeed disappointing. The later might take 2 wickets, but leaked 53 runs in just 5.1 overs.
The SA batting department was nothing but an absolute flop. The English bowlers washed away the Proteas’ possibilities of sealing the series
Pitch and Weather report
Headingley is going to present itself much in favour of the pacers. Not only the uneven bounce, but also the horizontal movements of the ball will be way too challenging for the batters. A pretty decent score is hard to chase, though the dew factor may come into rescue after 50 over. The ODI records her supports the view too- 26 of the 43 matches played here has been won chasing it.
At the same time, it won’t be surprising to see either SA or English joining the group of 17 who won defending here. The overall average score at the ground is 235 per innings. Adil Rashid tops the list of bowlers by bagging 12 wickets here.
Besides the pitch, there’s a possibility of scattered rainfall here. It won’t be as long as it was in Manchester. Hopefully, it won’t be a big issue. Otherwise the sky is supposed to stay clear. Apart from that, the temperature will vary from 13°C to 19°C with humidity on the higher side.
Playing Combinations for England vs South Africa
England
The host will release a comfortable sigh as they have leveled the series. However, they are very unlikely to bring any change in their playing 11. Their strategy may differ unless they are okay with running back to the pavilion early as a result of their aggressive approach.
PREDICTED PLAYING XI:
Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Philip Salt, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley
South Africa
All that Keshav Maharaj will want to see the upper order getting its life back. Otherwise , South Africa hardly will go for a new team unless they are trying to fit in Jansen.
PREDICTED PLAYING XI:
Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Dwaine Pretorius, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj (c), Tabraiz Shamsi
ENG vs SA : Match details
Date :- Sunday, July 24
Time :- 3:30 PM IST (10 am GMT)
Venue:- Headingley, Leeds
