ENG v SA 2020: Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock gear up for England ODI challenge
Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock were pre-eminent performers for their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises - Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians - in their successful IPL 2020 campaigns.
However, they haven't been able to carry their purple patches from the IPL on to the white-ball series against England, which includes three T20Is and as many ODIs.
In the two T20Is completed till now, Quinton de Kock has only scored 60 runs while Kagiso Rabada has taken the solitary wicket of Sam Curran. The poor show from the duo has let England take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
There's no doubt that both Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada will be looking to perform better in the third T20I and carry some momentum to the ODIs.
Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock looking forward to the ODI series against England
The upcoming ODI series will have many battles to watch out for. However, the biggest of them would be Kagiso Rabada going up against arguably the fiercest ODI batting side in the world.
“This is an exciting series. I am hoping to continue the momentum that I delivered in the IPL for the national team. The team looks promising after excellent performances in the IPL and our pacers will continue to work in the same direction to win each game. Jos Buttler, Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Eoin Morgan are fresh out of the IPL as well and seem to be in good form and we are up for the challenge,” Kagiso Rabada said on Star Sports.
This white ball tour is the first time the South African audience is seeing the Proteas play international cricket since March. South Africa skipper Quinton de Kock said he was looking forward to his own duels with the likes of Jofra Archer and Sam Curran.
“I am extremely happy with the return of international cricket to the country. England is one of the leading sides and Jofra Archer and Sam Curran are in top form. The ODI games seem to be promising as well, it’s good to be back with the squad in the longer format of the game after the IPL. We have an exciting team and it’s a good mix with potential talent. Both teams have an interesting batting and bowling line-up for the series, we want to just give it our best and enjoy the games,” said Quinton de Kock.
The last time England and South Africa met in an ODI was in the 2019 World Cup league stage when Kagiso Rabada got the prized wicket of Joe Root. The match also saw Quinton de Kock top-score for the Proteas with 68.
However, their efforts couldn't help South Africa get over the line as Jofra Archer ran through the batting line-up with his spell of 3-37.
The final T20I will be played in Cape Town today and the three-match ODI series is set to commence on December 04.