India A vs South Africa A, 2019: 1st Unofficial ODI: Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips – Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update

Match Details:

The 1st game of the 5-match Unofficial ODI series between India A and South Africa A will be hosted by Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.

The match starts at 9:00 AM local time (IST) (3:30 AM GMT).

The game will be live on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD. Streaming available on Hotstar.

Preview:

South Africa A’s tour of India will comprise of 5-match unofficial ODI series followed by a 2-match unofficial Test series. The One-Dayers will be played on alternative days starting from 29th and will be hosted by Trivandrum’s Greenfield Stadium. Manish Pandey will lead the hosts for the first three matches while Shreyas Iyer replaces Pandey that too as skipper. Temba Bavuma leads the visiting team in the limited-overs format.

The selectors have included the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijay Shankar, Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed. Chahal hasn’t been quite the wicket-taker recently while Shankar is returning after suffering an injury during the World Cup game. This is a crucial series for Khaleel Ahmed who was quite expensive during the ODI series in West Indies. Reeza Hendricks and Anrich Nortje will be under the spotlight of the Proteas.

Weather Condition/Report:

Thunderstorms are predicted for Thursday in Thiruvananthapuram. However, the weather forecast has been similar in previous days. The expected rain over the last two days didn’t happen which is a positive hope. The conditions at the venue are good enough to get the game started quickly.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The Greenfield Stadium hosted six List A matches – an ODI in 2018 and five unofficial ODIs this year. However, considering the scores, it can be said that no two matches were similar. This could be possible due to variety of pitches at this venue but spinners taking wickets has been common in all matches. Since this unofficial ODI series is telecasted, we might get to know how the track behaves here.

Average first innings score: 206 (List A matches)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 4, Lost – 2

Team News:

(Will be added when there is an update)

Probable Playing XIs:

India A:

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Manish Pandey (C), Vijay Shankar, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed

Bench – Ricky Bhui, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Nitish Rana.

With Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel and Nitish Rana present in the squad for the last two matches of this series, the three players might not feature straight away. Ricky Bhui might miss out for Anmolpreet Singh who has played a good amount of matches for India A.

South Africa A:

Janneman Malan, Reeza Hendricks, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma (C), Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Junior Dala, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje.

Bench – Matthew Breetzke, Sinethemba Qeshile, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla.

The 20-year-old Matthew Breetzke might be overlooked for Kyle Verreynne, who came in as a replacement. Verreynne has the ability to bat in the middle-order which allows Malan and Reeza to open the innings.

Top Picks:

Manish Pandey often produces big numbers while playing for India A. The South Africa A team seems to be the one that has suffered. Across nine List A innings against them, Pandey amassed 630 runs at an impeccable average of 210. He scored four fifties and two unbeaten hundreds in those nine outings. His lowest dismissed score against them is 47.

George Linde impressed one and all with his all-round performances during the CSA and Momentum One-Day competitions in 2018/19 season. He scored 248 runs across ten matches with two fifties and also bagged 11 wickets. Kyle Verreynne could be a surprise package due to his exploits in One-Day matches in 2018/19 season. He scored 453 runs at an average of 64.71 and scored an unbeaten century going along with four fifties.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain – Manish Pandey, Shubman Gill, Reeza Hendricks, Shivam Dube, Theunis de Bruyn

Vice-Captain – Janneman Malan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Krunal Pandya, Kyle Verreynne, George Linde

Adding to his sensational numbers against South Africa A, the skipper Manish Pandey has amassed 213 runs across three innings in the KPL over the last week without getting dismissed. Theunis de Bruyn is trustable in sub-continental conditions. He did score a Test century on the final day of a Test in Sri Lanka. Watch out for Shubman Gill who has been knocking the doors of Indian selectors and scored a hat-trick of fifties in the Caribbean tour in the One-Dayers.

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Ishan Kishan

Batsmen – Shubman Gill, R Hendricks, Theunis de Bruyn, T Bavuma, R Gaikwad, Manish Pandey (C)

All-Rounders – Shivam Dube

Bowlers – K Khaleel Ahmed, Junior Dala, Anrich Nortje

-Suggested Playing XI No.2 for Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – Kyle Verreynne

Batsmen – Manish Pandey, Shubman Gill, Theunis de Bruyn, Janneman Malan (VC)

All-Rounders – Shivam Dube (C), Krunal Pandya, George Linde

Bowlers – K Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Anrich Nortje

Expert Advice:

Both the teams have some quality players and the Dream11’s rules do make it tough to form a squad among the available options. However, players with a good record and recent form can be preferred in this case. In case there is any delayed updates regarding the toss, the fantasy teams can be picked as per our probable XIs.

Probable Winners:

The experienced India A players might help in getting them over the line against the visitors.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.