RSA vs AUS Match Preview
Australia has dominated South Africa throughout this tour. They registered a clean sweep in the T20 series and have taken a lead in the ODI series as well.
After trumping the home team by 123 runs in the 2nd ODI, Australia has overtaken Pakistan to become the top ODI team in the latest ICC rankings. It has been an excellent batting effort by them till now. Marnus Labuschagne is in prime form in the middle order.
He scored a half-century in the 1st ODI and followed it up with a brilliant century in the 2nd. David Warner, who has had a relatively quiet year with the bat, scored his first ODI century in almost 10 months on Saturday. In addition to these two, there are quite a few talented batsmen in the line-up including Travis Hado, Josh Inglis, and Mitchell Marsh, who are all capable of playing big innings.
Adam Zampa bowled an excellent spell in the last match, picking up 4 wickets, and is now the leading wicket-taker for the tournament. Australia also has a strong pace attack consisting of Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, and Aaron Hardie.
With the ODI World Cup fast approaching, South Africa will be very disappointed with the way things have panned out. They now have the prospect of winning 3 consecutive matches if they want to win the series. Skipper Temba Bavuma has batted well at the top of the order. He scored a century in the first ODI and followed it up with a well-made 46 in the last match.
He, along with Quinton de Kock put up a brisk 81-run partnership as South Africa chased a mammoth target of 393 runs. However, the middle order failed to capitalize on that as the home team lost wickets at regular intervals.
Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller got good starts but fell in a bid to accelerate the scoring rate. The South Africans need to put these losses behind them and get their act together if they want to save the series.
Weather Report
The weather at Potchefstroom is expected to remain clear throughout the day. There will be plenty of sunshine with a pleasant temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
The pitch at the Senwes Park is well-balanced. There is some help for the quicker bowlers early on as the surface offers plenty of pace and bounce. However, the pitch does settle down as the match progresses and gets easier to bat on. Each of the last 6 ODIs played here has been won while chasing, hence the winner of the toss might opt to bowl first to allow the quicker bowlers to shine.
Since this is a day-night match, there might be some help for the spinners later on.
Notable stats
David Warner’s excellent record against South Africa
David Warner scored a century in the 2nd ODI, which was his 5th century against South Africa. He now equaled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most centuries against the Proteas.
Team News
There are no updates regarding injuries from either side.
RSA vs AUS Probable 11
RSA Playing 11
- Quinton de Kock (Wk)
- Temba Bavuma (C)
- Rassie van der Dussen
- Aiden Markram
- Heinrich Klaasen
- David Miller
- Marco Jansen
- Andile Phehlukwayo
- Kagiso Rabada
- Anrich Nortje
- Tabraiz Shamsi
AUS Playing 11
- David Warner
- Travis Head
- Mitchell Marsh (C)
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Josh Inglis
- Alex Carey (Wk)
- Tim David
- Aaron Hardie
- Sean Abbott
- Nathan Ellis
- Adam Zampa
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing Australia to win this match. They have been clinical in their performance against South Africa and have dominated them in all aspects of the game. On the other hand, the home team hasn’t been up to the task and we expect their struggles to continue.
Top Picks
Marnus Labuschagne: Labuschagne is in red-hot form with the bat. He has scored 204 runs in 2 innings at a strike rate of 106.25.
Travis Head: Travis Head is known for his explosive brand of batting. He has scored 426 runs in the last 8 innings at a strike rate of 121.71.
Temba Bavuma: Temba Bavuma is the leading run-getter for SA in 2023. He has scored 580 runs at an incredible average of 96.66.
RSA vs AUS Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: Q de Kock, H Klaasen
Batters: M Marsh, D Warner, T Bavuma (VC), T Head
All-rounders: M Labuschagne (C), M Jansen
Bowlers: K Rabada, A Zampa, S Abbott
