5 reasons why South Africa can conquer the Kiwi challenge

5 reasons why South Africa can conquer the Kiwi challenge: The Super Sport Park of Centurion will witness the first hammering on the nail of the action packed South Africa v New Zealand 3-match ODI series. Both the teams are coming fresh from the 2 T20I series which gave glimpses of what events can unfold itself in this clash of titans. The series ended with both the sides winning a game each. Now, one thing is for sure that the ODI series is going to be a fight till the hilt.

The South African’s will be keen on avenging the heart-breaking World Cup 2015 semi-final loss which led to their ouster from the mega event and dismayed the hopes of millions of Proteas fans all over the globe to lift the World Cup. But now the challenges and situations are different for both the sides.

On the eve of the ODI series, 5 reasons why South Africa can conquer the Kiwi challenge:

1. Favorable home conditions:

The South African players will have an edge over the Black Caps as they will be playing in their own backyard. From batters to bowlers everyone is familiar with the pitch and weather conditions as they have grown up playing cricket here. Overall both the sides have played 4 bilateral series in South Africa and on 3 occasions the hosts have emerged as the winners while only one occasion the tourists have won the series. The trend shows that this series might also tilt in favor of the hosts.

Also Read – South Africa v New Zealand 1st ODI preview: The rivary moves to ODIs

2. Depleted Kiwi side:

If you look at the New Zealand squad you will realize that it’s hardly the team which defeated the Proteas side in the recently concluded World Cup 2015. Some players are unavailable due to injuries while some are taking rest. The tourists will miss the services of their regular skipper Brendon McCullum and senior batsman Ross Taylor. In bowling the World Cup stalwarts of the Black Caps Trent Boult and Tim Southee will be missed while all-rounders like Corey Anderson and Mitchell Santner are also unavailable for the series. Even their best XI found it hard to deflate the Proteas and this certainly doesn’t seem to be their best team.

3. AB de Villiers the X-factor:

These days AB de Villiers has transformed into some batting giant and is piling new standards for the batters which is beyond the reach of many but not certainly for the very own Superman of cricket. If the team is in trouble and reeling to find its feet in the game then AB can anchor the innings and when they need quick runs, he can shiver the bowlers with his 360 degree repertoire of strokes. This man is a one man army who can pull-off almost anything on the field. In 12 ODI matches this year he has hammered 731 runs at an average of 91.

4. New Zealand’s over-dependence on Kane Williamson:

If we gaze at the batting line-up of the Black Caps, it is easy to figure out that the whole team is seemingly revolving around one player; Kane Williamson. He is in the form of his life and this year in 23 ODI matches has put up 1,224 runs. Out of 23 ODIs he has crossed the 50 run mark 11 times. But a team over-dependent on a single player is always under the pump like the Kiwis are. If Kane falters in any game then the whole New Zealand batting line-up will get exposed and they also lack the experience of playing against the best at the highest level.

5. Imran Tahir’s form:

The South African leggie Imran Tahir has performed exceedingly well this year. Imran has seemed a class apart in ODIs and has found the perfect recipe of success. He appears masterly apt in his variations while the way he uses the googly also makes him a stand-out prospect. He was the best spinner even in the World Cup 2015. Since 2014, he has grabbed 46 wickets in 28 matches at a miser economy of 4.4. Even in the World Cup 2015 semi-final match, the Kiwi batsmen couldn’t read him well. Now, Tahir will be looking to tear apart the Kiwis by exposing their apparent weakness against quality spin bowling.