ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 45: AUS vs SA – South Africa Predicted Playing XI

South Africa might have been knocked out of the tournament. But they can potentially decide who will face whom in the semi-finals of the World Cup 2019. Things haven’t really gone the way the Proteas would have liked in the tournament. Their two wins came against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka; thus, leading to a great disappointment.

While they can’t do anything about what’s already gone by, South Africa can still exit the tournament on a high. In the final league game of the tournament, South Africa will face Australia. This is quite an emotional game for them as JP Duminy and Imran Tahir will be playing his last ODI game. The team will look to give them a nice send-off by winning this match.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for South Africa

Openers (Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla)

The openers struggling to get runs is something South Africa wouldn’t have wanted. It has been an extremely disappointing tournament for Quinton de Kock. He was in great form and his team had a lot of hopes on him. However, things haven’t transpired quite as per the expectations.

Hashim Amla has also had his struggles and has crawled along whenever he got big scores. He scored 80 runs in the last match against Sri Lanka at a strike rate of 76. There isn’t much a team can do when the openers do not perform well together on a consistent basis. There is some unfinished business for both these players. It is potentially the last World Cup game for Amla as well.

Middle Order (Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen)

Faf du Plessis played an amazing knock in the last game. He was unbeaten on 96 and scored his runs at a great pace. He is usually at his best when he bats at number three. He should hold onto that position and should get a big score for one last time in the tournament. Since he is 34 already, we might not see the South African skipper playing another World Cup. It is a big game for him as well.

South Africa has persisted with Aiden Markram for quite some time now. It is the responsibility of the 24-year-old to repay the faith back with some good knocks. Rassie van der Dussen has been doing a good job. While number three or four are ideal for him, batting at five shouldn’t be a huge problem as he is a clean striker of the ball.

All Rounders (JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Chris Morris)

JP Duminy didn’t get to bat in the previous outing and bowled two overs where he picked up one wicket. He will hope that he does well in the last ODI match of his in both the departments of the game. Andile Phehlukwayo is contributing in both the departments of the game and is good on the field as well. He has provided his team with great stability.

Dwaine Pretorius won the ‘Man of the Match’ against Sri Lanka. He picked up three wickets and was an absolute miser with the ball. This performance should give him another opportunity. Even Chris Morris picked up a three-wicket haul. He is a good prospect with the new ball and can swing it early on. Thus, he must be in the eleven. He even adds a great amount of depth to the batting.

Bowlers (Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir)

Just like De Kock, Kagiso Rabada hasn’t been great in the tournament either. While he bowled some fiery spells at times, he has struggled to maintain the consistency and regularly picked up wickets for his team. Maybe, the performance in the last match where he accounted for two scalps should give him a boost. Imran Tahir will bid adieu to the ODI format with this game. Like everyone else, he will hope to bring out a match-winning performance.