South Africa vs Zimbabwe, 2nd T20I Preview: Rampant Proteas aim for an unassailable lead

South Africa on any day is a much stronger side than Zimbabwe considering the current circumstances, but the way a young Zimbabwean side managed to consolidate their authoritativeness without a few big players speaks volumes of their bench strength.

This series has panned out the exact way one would’ve imagined. South Africa managed to win all the ODI games and won the first T20I pretty comfortably. But Zimbabwe have not once gone down without a fight and they did show some great spirit on occasions.

It seems likely that the hosts will experiment and rest a few players. Rassie van der Dussen registered a fifty on his debut and will be keen to stitch a few more big scores to get into the ODI setup. Not a lot of intense tussles are expected in this fixture and if it turns out to be one-way traffic, that would surprise none.

Playing Combinations

South Africa

Quinton de Kock will be opening the innings alongside Gihahn Cloete, with skipper Faf du Plessis coming in at three. Van der Dussen, David Miller and Christiaan Jonker give a pretty stable look to their middle order. Imran Tahir might get some rest after his heroics in the previous game as Junior Dala, Dane Paterson, Lungi Ngidi and chinaman bowler Shamsi will take up the bowling responsibility.

Predicted XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Gihahn Cloete, Faf du Plessis (C), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Christiaan Jonker, Andile Phehlukwayo, Junior Dala, Dane Paterson, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

Zimbabwe

Chibhabha and Masakadza will open the innings with their stalwart Brendan Taylor coming at three. Sean Williams, Peter Moor and Elton Chigumbura will comprise the middle order with a decent batting option in Brandon Mavuta at number 8. Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara and Chris Mpofu will have to up the ante and bring their A-game to ensure their side stands any chance of giving a fight.

Predicted XI: Chamu Chibhabha, Hamilton Masakadza (C), Brendan Taylor (wk), Tarisai Musakanda, Sean Williams, Peter Moor, Elton Chigumbura, Brandon Mavuta, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu

Focus will be on

Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa)

For a really long time, Shamsi has been coming in and going out of contention, but no one can disregard the special talent he’s blessed with. The chinaman bowler will have a bigger role to play given Tahir gets rested and it will be a stern test of his ability against a highly-spirited batting line-up.

Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe)

Since coming out of retirement, Brendan Taylor has been doing a decent job for his country, but a lot more is expected of him. Not many are unaware of his T20 exploits and he certainly packs a punch. If the Proteas bowlers get a little carried away and give him some freedom to work with, we could see the old Brendan Taylor in action.

Stat Attack

1 – Kyle Jarvis needs one more wicket to complete 50 scalps in T20s.

2 – This is the second time Potchefstroom will host a T20I game.

90 – David Miller needs 90 runs to complete 6,000 runs in T20s. He will become the 2nd South African and 23rd batsman overall to breach that mark.

For more news and developments, stay tuned on CricTracker.com.