ABOUT THE MATCH
South Africa has just five matches remaining in the ICC World Cup 2019 and it has yet to win its first match. That is not something that many people would have expected. Three losses from its first three games were followed by a rained-out fixture against the West Indies.South Africa now plays against Afghanistan, a match where it could finally pick up its first win, weather permitting of course.
Afghanistan has played three matches and lost all three. There have been sparks of brilliance in Afghanistan’s Cricket World Cup 2019 campaign but nothing that has brought it close to a victory. Some of the big players in the Afghanistan team need to start making their presence felt, otherwise, they are going to struggle to win a single game in this tournament.
The weather has been horrible over the last week and we have already had four matches rained out. The forecast in Cardiff for this match is a bit better but we are likely to get a rain delay here as well.
South Africa vs Afghanistan ICC World Cup 2019 is going to be played at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on the 15th of June 2019.
MATCH PREVIEW
SOUTH AFRICA
It will be ten days since South Africa would have played its last world cup 2019 match when it takes the field against Afghanistan. Only 7.3 overs were possible in the match against West Indies but South Africa lost two wickets in that short period as well.The signs are not good for South Africa.
They need to win all five of their matches and hope for some luck to be able to qualify for the ICC World Cup 2019 semi-finals. They have two potential ‘easy’ games against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka which they must win and try to improve their net run-rate a bit as well.
There are some important questions that South Africa needs to answer ahead of this match.
The first one is about their batting order. Faf du Plessis has been batting at 3 and having a lot of success but he is sliding down the order to accommodate Aiden Markram, who is not in good form.
The second is about team selection. Does Hashim Amla deserve another run after a series of poor scores? Does JP Duminy deserve another chance in the middle? Should South Africa abandon its tactic of playing two spinners altogether?
Most importantly, South Africa needs to get its mindset right. On a player to the player basis, there is no contest between South Africa and Afghanistan. Batsmen like Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, and Hashim Amla are miles ahead of where Afghanistan is.
Similarly, Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris, Imran Tahir, and Beuran Hendricks are far superior to anything the Afghans can muster together.
South Africa would be desperately hoping that its big players can finally shed off the dazed look they have been carrying around in the world cup so far and start getting some wins under their belt. Faf du Plessis is our pick for the player to watch out for in this match. He is in good form and likes to lead from the front.
South Africa Squad Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Beuran Hendricks, Lungi Ngidi, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jean-Paul Duminy
Playing 11Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (c), Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi/Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir
AFGHANISTAN
No one expected Afghanistan to win the ICC World Cup 2019 or even make the semi-finals for that matter. A lot of people did expect Afghanistan to make life tough for the other teams and maybe even pick up a win somewhere along the line.
This match against South Africa is as good an opportunity as any for Afghanistan to make its mark on the world cup.
Afghanistan has a very good spin bowling attack and they can exploit some of the weaknesses in the South African camp. Bowlers like Mujeeb, Rashid Khan, and Mohammad Nabi can all be very difficult to handle when in form.
We think that Afghanistan needs to re-think its strategy a little, though. It looks like Afghanistan is happy to start Mujeeb with the new ball, attack with Mohammad Nabi in the middle overs, and then unleash Rashid Khan in the end overs.
Teams around the world have grown to expect this line of attack now. Rashid Khan is being wasted by being held back so late into the game and Mujeeb has struggled to make an impact with the new ball. Changing things up a little is not going to harm Afghanistan.
Its fast-bowling resources are also slim. Hamid Hassan is giving it his all but he is not the bowler he once was. Aftab Alam is energetic without being too threatening. Afghanistan could struggle to stop the strong South African batting from scoring a mountain of runs.
Even more troubling has been the Afghan batting performance. Not even a single batsman from Afghanistan has shown the temperament needed to succeed at this level. Maybe Rahmat Shah is the closes Afghanistan has to a world-class batsman but he cannot win matches on his own.
Hazratullah is happy slogging at the beginning of the inning while Mohammad Nabi does not seem to be able to adapt his game to the 50 over format. Every single batsman in the Afghanistan lineup is going to have to play better than what we have seen in this tournament if Afghanistan is to have any hope of competing with the South Africans.
Afghanistan Squad ulbadin Naib (c), Ikram Ali khil (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Asghar Afghan V
Playing 11: Hazratullah Zazai, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali khil (wk), Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan
TOSS PREDICTION
The team winning the toss is likely to want to bat second. The rain around is going to add moisture to the surface and make batting difficult for the first hour.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
South Africa vs Afghanistan ICC World Cup 2019is going to be played at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The weather has been a real problem in the World Cup so far. Four matches have been rained out and the forecast is not too encouraging either.
There is some rain expected on the morning of the match with a clear day to look forward to later on. This means we could have a delayed start and some reduction in overs.
Cardiff has offered some help to the fast bowlers but overall, the wicket has been good for the batsmen.
DREAM11 PREDICTION
The unending rain seems to be finally ready to take a break and allow us to watch some cricket. Dream11 team for South Africa vs Afghanistan is made assuming we will get a full game.
The strategy for this match is pretty simple: South Africa has to win, preferably with a big margin. We think they are going to be able to do it and this is why we are packing our side with the maximum possible South Africans.
Wicketkeeper: Quinton de Kock is the obvious choice in this category. He is in brilliant form, opens the batting, and is pretty good behind the stumps as well. He is going to be attacked by spin at the start of the inning and that is possibly where he will be tested.
Batsmen: The South African top-order is not in the best form but players like Hashim Amla and Aiden Markram should not be counted out. They have a very good chance of scoring against a weak Afghanistan bowling attack and this is why we have picked them in the side. Faf du Plessis is the other batsman we have picked, which gives all the South African top-order.
All-rounders: Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, and Chris Morris are the three players we have selected for our team. Nabi is a leading spinner for Afghanistan while Naib is pretty handy with both bat and ball. Chris Morris is going to be hunting down the wickets and be expected to score runs down the order if hets the opportunity.
Bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan, Beuran Hendricks, and Nujeeb Ur Rahman are the four bowlers to have been included in the side. Our idea is to have as many wicket-taking options as possible. For South Africa, this means, the fast bowlers and for Afghanistan, this means their spinners. We believe we have most of the bases covered with this selection.
Captain and Vice-Captain: We have decided to have Kagiso Rabada as captain and Hashim Amla as our vice-captain for this match.
RSA VS AFG DREAM11 LINEUP
WICKETKEEPER:
Quinton de Kock
BATSMEN:
Faf du Plessis Hashim Amla (vc) Aiden Markram
ALL-ROUNDERS:
Mohammad Nabi Chris Morris Gumbadin Naib
BOWLERS:
Kagiso Rabada (c) Rashid Khan Mujeeb ur Rahman Beuran Hendricks
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