With the ODI series tied between South Africa and New Zealand, one expects an exciting finish to it with the third ODI set to be played on 26 August at Kingsmead in Durban.
After South Africa won the first ODI of the series, the home team were looking to kill the series with another win and take an invincible lead, but the Black Caps had other ideas as their players came to the party with both the bat and ball in the second ODI to make the third match of the series a winner-takes-all scenario.
New Zealand have been mighty impressive in the series, including the first ODI. Though they lost, they put up a brave fight when they were asked to chase a target of 304 runs. They could have snatched victory had one of their batsmen stayed at the crease for a longer time.
None of their batsmen could convert their starts into meaningful scores, which led to their downfall, but when they faced the Proteas in the second ODI, they looked in complete control right from the start. After dismissing South Africa for 204 runs, New Zealand chased the target with relative ease as they only lost two wickets.
Martin Guptill was brilliant during the run chase as he scored 103 runs to help his team cross the finish line. Alongside Tom Latham, Guptill enjoyed an opening stand of 126 runs. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will be asking for a similar performance from his players in the series decider on Wednesday.
However, there are worrying signs for South Africa as their key batsmen – AB de Villiers and David Miller – in absence of Faf du Plessis have not been able to turn up their game against the Black Caps. The duo will be eager to perform against New Zealand in the third ODI and help the home team win the ODI series.
Not only are South Africa missing du Plessis, JP Duminy, who is an important player for South Africa, primarily with the bat is also missing in action. New Zealand, who are also missing Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor in the series, have looked a better side in the tour as they even drew the T20 series.
Can New Zealand pull off an incredible ODI series win?
Team Squads
South Africa:AB de Villiers (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Morne van Wyk (wk), David Wiese.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Doug Bracewell, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ish Sodhi, Ben Wheeler
South Africa vs New Zealand 3rd ODI Schedule
Date – 26 August 2015
Time - 12:30pm local time (4pm IST)
Venue – Kingsmead, Durban
