Australia vs South Africa, One-off T20I, Preview: High-flying Proteas hope to end the tour on a winning note

The hosts are desperate for a victory.

Published - 16 Nov 2018, 20:30 IST | Updated - 16 Nov 2018, 20:30 IST

2 Min Read

With the 50-over World Cup only six months away, no one is really understanding why the teams are really playing the T20 Internationals. To add to it, the eyebrows are raised even more when a one-off team is being played. Australia and South Africa are doing exactly that and one shouldn’t be surprised if the teams opt to experiment a bit in this game.

The tourists have won the ODI series and have opted to play with the same squad instead of making the players fly from the rainbow nation only for a solitary game. They also enter the contest as the favourites despite the fact that South Africa trail Australia by three positions in the ICC T20I rankings. If the current form of the teams is concerned, things stand exactly opposite.

Australia would love to play any game at the moment. Such is their state of the sport and victory in any format will mean a lot for them. Carrara Oval in Queensland is hosting its first game at any level since 1992 and the Men in Yellow must be looking to make it memorable. T20I specialist bowlers for this encounter will bring the fresh legs and the visitors should be aware of the threat they possess.

Team Combinations

Australia

The top three of Aaron Finch, D’Arcy Short and Chris Lynn remain the same and the trio will be desperate for runs after a disappointing series in the UAE. The bowling department has witnessed a major change with the inclusion of Andrew Tye and Billy Stanlake. Adam Zampa and Nathan Coulter-Nile were part of the ODIs as well and they just have to continue the good job.

Probable XI: Aaron Finch (C), D’Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Ben McDermott, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Andrew Tye, Billy Stanlake, Adam Zampa,

South Africa

Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks will open the innings for South Africa with the skipper Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen to follow. Chris Morris is expected to return to the action and the focus will be on him as he is also in the World Cup plans. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will look after the pace attack while Tabraiz Shamsi and Imran Tahir are the two wrist spinners who look to strangle the home side.

Probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Faf du Plessis (C), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi

Focus will be on

Glenn Maxwell (Australia)

Maxwell played a brilliant knock in the second T20I against Pakistan and had almost won the game for his team. But he fires very rarely these days and would want to settle things by bringing in some consistency in his game. Moreover, he will also have a point to prove after the Delhi Daredevils released him for the upcoming IPL season. A blitzkrieg in this game will increase his stakes once again ahead of the auction next month.

David Miller (South Africa)

David Miller is finally delivering. South Africa has invested a lot in him and it reaped rich rewards when he bailed the team out of the hole in the deciding ODI along with the skipper. A similar kind of form is expected from him and a lot will depend on how he fares against the fresh Aussie bowlers.