South Africa vs Australia: 1st T20 Preview and Predictions

Cricket

South Africa vs Australia: Australia is touring South Africa for a 3-match T20 series and a 5-match ODI series. The first T20 match is going to take place on 30th August. As the tournament is taking place just 2 months before the World Cup Australia has opted to rest their important players. Australia is suffering some injuries and for the first time, Mitchell Marsh is given the chance to caption the Australian side. South Africa is also in great form after beating the Netherlands 3-0 in an ODI series.

The 1st T20 match between South Africa vs Australia will take place on August 30, 2023, at Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa.

Match Details to Note:

Match: South Africa vs Australia 1st T20

Date: August 30th, 2023 (Wednesday)

Time: 09:30 PM IST

Venue: Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa

South Africa vs Australia

South Africa (Match Odds- 2.30)

Preview:

The recent T20I performance of South Africa hasn’t been fantastic; they’ve dropped four of the five games they’ve played this year, including a series loss at home to the West Indies. The Proteas have a lot to prove if they want to atone for their humiliating T20 World Cup defeat late last year and restore their lost reputation.

In the series, their starting batter will be skipper Aiden Markram. In his last 10 games, Markram has scored 229 runs at an average of 36.50 and a 150 strike rate. Reeza Hendricks is another hitter to watch out for. In the home series against the West Indies, the aggressive T20 opener was in outstanding form, scoring 172 runs in 3 matches with a strike rate of 204.76.

Dewald Brevis, who has never played, is a promising addition to this group. The 20-year-old, who holds the highest individual T20 score in South Africa (162), has developed a reputation as a dangerous T20 batter. In this match, we anticipate a quick knock from him. He is also called the baby AB because his playing style is like the iconic AB D.

The pressure will be on Lungi Ngidi to perform well in the absence of the typical top bowlers. Despite having a high economy rate of 9.19, the fast bowler has taken an astounding total of 28 wickets in just 15 domestic T20Is.

Tabraiz Shamsi, a left-arm wrist spinner, is a differentiating bowler. With 74 wickets at an economy rate of 7.28, he leads South Africa in wickets in T20 internationals. Shamsi should be able to trouble the batsmen with to the bounce from the Durban pitch.

Full Squad:

Aiden Markram (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Gerald Coetzee, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Lizaad Williams

Players to watch out for:

Aiden Markram

In the series South Africa vs Australia, their starting batter will be skipper Aiden Markram. In his last 10 games, Markram has scored 229 runs at an average of 36.50 and a 150 strike rate. South African Caption will be the player to watch out for.

Tabraiz Shamsi

Possible Playing XI:

Temba Bavuma, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Dewald Brevis, Aiden Markram (C), Tristan Stubbs (WK), Marco Jansen, Sisanda Magala, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Australia (Match Odds- 1.62)

Preview:

For the tour to South Africa, Australia will be without many of its top players. Glen Maxwell, a famous all-rounder who was a member of the squad, will also miss the series owing to an ankle injury he sustained during the team’s first training session in Durban. While Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins were ruled out due to injuries, star all-rounder Glen Maxwell is now too.

But Australia has a capable all-rounder in Mitchell Marsh who will likely take the initiative. With a strike rate of 135.71 and an average of 23.75 runs per inning during his previous 8 innings, Marsh has pounded out 190 runs. He has played 18 T20 Internationals against South Africa, totaling 464 runs and 8 wickets.

Marcus Stoinis is also among them in the middle order. The dangerous Stoinis has been hitting well lately, scoring 191 runs in his last 7 innings at an average of 38.20 and a strike rate of 173.63, and is capable of single-handedly turning the game with his ferocious punches.

Tim David, the current cricket player in the world with the most fearsome finish, should also be avoided. The most T20 runs in overs of 16 to 20 have been scored by David this year with 437 at an astounding strike rate of 189.17.

Australia’s bowling, at least on paper, lacks bite, even though their batting still appears to be adequate. The crucial bowler in this game and series will be Adam Zampa, who leads Australia in T20I wickets with 82. He bowls on precise lines and makes sure not to allow single runs in the middle overs.

Both uncapped Matthew Short and Spencer Johnson might get their first international appearances in the series.

Full Squad:

Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Tanveer Sangha, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Players to watch out for:

Mitchell Marsh

Australia has a capable all-rounder in Mitchell Marsh who will likely take the initiative. With a strike rate of 135.71 and an average of 23.75 runs per inning during his previous 8 innings, Marsh has pounded out 190 runs. He has played 18 T20 Internationals against South Africa, totaling 464 runs and 8 wickets.

Adam Zampa

The crucial bowler in this game and series South Africa vs Australia for Australia will be Adam Zampa, who leads Australia in T20I wickets with 82. He bowls on precise lines and makes sure not to allow single runs in the middle overs.

Possible Playing XI:

Matthew Short, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (C), Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (WK), Tim David, Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson/Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.

South Africa vs Australia Head to Head:

In total South Africa and Australia have played each other 22 times and Australia has won 14 times while South Africa won only 8 times. South Africa will try to chase down the head-to-head stats in this tournament at home.

South Africa vs Australia Toss Prediction:

The team batting first has prevailed in eight of the fifteen T20I matches played in Durban. The team that wins the coin toss will probably get to bat first because the surface here gets harder to bat on as the game South Africa vs Australia goes on.

South Africa vs Australia Pitch Report:

The Durban pitch is renowned for favoring seam bowlers more. In the first few overs with the new ball, hitters must be careful with their technique since it gives a lot of sharp bounce and movement. They will be able to play their strokes once they have settled in. However, quick bowlers should have enough traction in this area to trouble batsmen all game long. Under the lights, the new ball will move around a lot.

There will be a breeze and clear skies in Durban for South Africa vs Australia.

South Africa vs Australia Match Prediction:

However, Australia’s batting appears to be far more dangerous than the host team’s. They bat pretty deep and have a lot of dangerous batters on their team. They will be looking to their skipper and players like Dewald Brevis to do well for South Africa. Lungi Ngidi may prove to be quite a challenge on this hot wicket. We still believe that Australia has the upper hand in this match despite his threat.

We are predicting Australia to win the game South Africa vs Australia at the odds of 1.62