South Africa vs Zimbabwe, 3rd T20I, Preview: Last chance for the visitors to create an upset

Will it be 3-0 again or Zimbabwe have something left in the tank?

Published - 13 Oct 2018, 19:37 IST | Updated - 13 Oct 2018, 19:37 IST

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South Africa were guilty of not being clinical in the ODI series and the first T20 International. But the second match must’ve brought some relief in their camp. It was a complete performance from them. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, have managed to dominate in a couple of matches on this tour, once in each series, and haven’t been able to take home the advantage so far. The third and final T20I is the last chance for them to go back home smiling.

Faf du Plessis was clearly elated after the victory in the previous game and he will hope that his troops put yet another convincing show in the middle. The emergence of some of the youngsters is also heartening for the hosts. JP Duminy also returned to form to some sorts with a decent outing at the Senwes Park. Though it is a dead rubber, the Proteas will be keen to clean sweep the opponents for the second time on this tour.

The Men in Red, however, have somehow failed to come together as a team. There have been brilliant individual performances, the latest one being from Sean Williams, but they haven’t hunted in a pack to trouble South Africa. Peter Moor had scared them for a while in the series opener. Inconsistency has been the issue for them and the coach Lalchand Rajput will hope that his boys give a final shot at the victory in Benoni.

Team Combinations

South Africa

Gihahn Cloete was unlucky to miss out the second game and should come back to open the innings for the dead rubber. Rassie van der Dussen will be left out for him while Lungi Ngidi might also be rested for Junior Dala. The rest of the line-up should be the same as they haven’t got enough game time in the middle. The middle-order especially is untested so far.

Probable XI: Gihahn Cloete, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis (C), Jean-Paul Duminy, Heinrich Klaasen, Christiaan Jonker, Andile Phehlukwayo, Robert Frylinck, Dane Paterson, Junior Dala, Tabraiz Shamsi

Zimbabwe

Hamilton Masakadza will need a solid opening partner at the top and this will be the last chance for Soloman Mire and he might be playing for his place now. Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams form the rock-solid middle-order while Peter Moor has the ability to tonk the ball on any given day. The bowling attack with the likes of Kyle Jarvis and Chris Mpofu is capable of going through this South African line-up. Brandon Mavuta’s leg-spin will also come in handy in the middle overs.

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

Focus will be on

Faf du Plessis (South Africa)

Faf du Plessis must be raring to hit the straps now. He looked positive in the first match but got out at the wrong time for his team. This match provides him with a great opportunity to stamp his authority and the others can bat just around him. A good knock here will also help him to increase his confidence going to Australia for the ODI series,.

Soloman Mire (Zimbabwe)

What has happened to Mire? This has been a forgettable tour for him. Not long ago, he had almost hit a century against Pakistan in the T20I tri-series back home. If he manages to bat in a similar way in this game, we might be in for a humdinger to end the tour. Also, his blitz at the top will help Zimbabwe set the platform for the others to come and play their strokes.