South Africa vs Australia 2020: 3 Players to watch out for in the 2nd ODI
The second ODI match of the series between South Africa and Australia is scheduled to take place tomorrow in Bloemfontein as the hosts will look to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series. The Proteas crushed the Aussies in the first one-dayer courtesy of some brilliant performances from Heinrich Klaasen and Lungi Ngidi.
However, the fans should not expect a similar encounter at the Mangaung Oval because the track will assist spinners. It will be difficult to play strokes on this wicket, hence, anything above 250 will be a par score. It will be intriguing to see if the visiting side can keep the series alive, given that they had earlier lost a series against India in January.
Here are the three players to keep tabs on during the second one-dayer between South Africa and Australia.
#3 Andile Phehlukwayo
Probably one of the best all-rounders of his nation, Andile Phehlukwayo will be looking to forget the first one-day match against Australia. The pace bowling all-rounder lost his wicket for a duck as Pat Cummins ran him out in the penultimate over of the South African inning.
Later, he could not trouble the top order batsmen of the opposition as he gave away 52 runs in 10 overs whilst picking the wicket of Cummins. Phehlukwayo would try to take advantage of home conditions and put in a better show in Bloemfontein.
#2 Tabraiz Shamsi
As the wicket in Bloemfontein will support the slower bowlers, South Africa's left-arm chinaman bowler, Tabraiz Shamsi, will look to trouble the visiting batsmen with his bowling skills. Shamsi has been in fine form of late having done well in the limited-overs format.
He completed his full quota of 10 overs in the series opener where he conceded 45 runs at an economy rate of 4.50. Besides the impressive economy rate, Shamsi took the key wickets of Alex Carey and D'Arcy Short to turn the match in South Africa's favour. Expect him to play a match-winning role for the Proteas once again.
#1 Mitchell Starc
Australia's left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc had played a major role in his team's T20I series win as he dismissed opposition skipper Quinton de Kock in both the games that his team won. Although this showcased his importance to the team, Starc could not bring his A-game to the table in the first one-day encounter and failed to replicate his T20I heroics.
He gave away 59 runs in 10 overs and his economy rate was higher than all the South African bowlers. Although he dismissed Janneman Malan on the first ball of the match, the Proteas ran away with the match ultimately. Starc will look to improve his performance and fire on all guns at the Mangaung Oval.