South Africa vs Pakistan, 2nd T20I: Fantain Fantasy Cricket Tips - Playing XI, Pitch report, Team combination

The T20I leg of Pakistan’s tour of South Africa began in explosive fashion. The host’s 192 appeared a tall order for the most part of Pakistan’s run chase but the tourist’s resilient mindset produced a thrilling finish. Pakistan will be disappointed from the outcome but they can take heart from the 6-run loss knowing that a big hit was all that separated the two sides. The action now shifts to Johannesburg for the 2nd T20I.

Teams News –

South Africa

Faf du Plessis has proved his credentials as a batsman and a leader time and time again. Coming in at one-drop, he showed everybody just how good he is regardless of the format. South Africa’s all-round showing will encourage them to play the same line-up and wrap up the series before rotating the team.

That said, Andile Phehlukwayo might be handed a break as the hosts view him as an all-rounder worth preserving. If this were to happen, Willem Mulde would step up. Also, take note of Lutho Sipalma. He’s had a stellar MSL season and the hosts could be prompted to hand him a game ahead of Junior Dala.

While Hendricks and du Plessis tore into the Pakistan bowling attack, Usman Shinwari and Imad Wasim came to the fore. While Wasim bowled tight lengths and was economical, Shinwari’s 3/31 ensured that the breaks were applied just at the right time.

We don’t expect too many changes to the Pakistan line-up. That said, either Shaheen Afridi or Mohammed Amir could step in place of Faheem Ashraf.  Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik and Hussain Talat did well with the bat for Pakistan. The tourists will be disappointed that neither of them carried the team over the line despite getting good starts.

Likely Playing XI-

South Africa

Hendricks, Cloete (WK), Faf (C), Miller Dussen, Phehlukwayo OR Mulder, Morris, Klassen Beuran Hendricks, Shamsi and Sipamla.

Pakistan

Talat, Babar, Malik (C), Rizwan, Zaman, Asif Ali, Shadab, Imad, Hasan Ali Usman and Amir.

Hot Picks

Faf du Plessis: this one’s an absolute no-brainer. The man’s dependable and scores at will in the shortest format. You can pick him any day

Reeza Hendricks: with a 41-ball 74, the South African opener showed what he’s capable of. His sparking innings produced 8 hits to the fence and 2 over it. If he can produce another such knock, South Africa will end up posting yet another huge total or overhaul a big one if needed

Tabraiz Shamsi: the wrist-spinner’s spell of 2/33 was a relatively good one. And this will encourage the team to keep playing him. A chinaman bowler always comes in handy and for this reason, Shamsi is a good bet for your Fantain XI

Chris Morris: the fast-bowling all-rounder was a tad bit expensive but his two-wickets were vital. He’s also more than capable of the big blow lower down the order and for this reason, he’s a great pick for your team.

Shoaib Malik: the stand-in skipper kept his side in the game right till end and almost pulled of a thrilling win. For this reason alone, Malik makes for a solid pick. He can also roll his arm over on a need basis and this makes him an added bonus.

Fantain Fantasy XI

T Shamsi                       – Bowler           – 8

F Ashraf                        – Bowler           – 8

B Hendricks                  – Bowler           – 8

Md Rizwan                   – Wk-Keeper     – 8

C Morris                       – All-Rounder    – 9

S Khan                          – All-Rounder    – 9

S Wasim                       – All-Rounder    – 9

R Hendricks                  – Batsman         – 8

F du Plessis (C)              – Batsman         – 10

B Azam                         – Batsman         – 11

S Malik (VC)                  – Batsman         – 9

This is our Fantain Fantasy XI but you’re the real expert.

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