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New Zealand
South Africa
New Zealand will face South Africa in the 3rd T20I at Eden Park, Auckland, on 20th March. The series stands level at 1-1, with 3 matches to go. Both teams will field their best playing XIs despite resting World Cup players. New Zealand will enter with momentum after a dominant 68-run win in the second match.
New Zealand will rely on Devon Conway, who scored 60 runs in the last match, while Lockie Ferguson will strengthen the bowling after his 3/16 spell. NZ were solid in both departments.
South Africa will need improvement with the bat after getting all out for 107, where dot balls stood at 54 per cent. In head-to-head contests, New Zealand have a slight edge with 3 wins in the last 5 matches.
Mitchell Santner has taken 3 wickets in 2 games this series, and with 15 wickets at Auckland plus SA struggling against spin in the middle overs, he will create wicket-taking chances again.
The betting tip is...
Mitchell Santner - Over 1.5 wickets
60 %
40 %
New ZealandSouth AfricaNew Zealand has an experienced batting unit led by Devon Conway, who scored 60 off 49 in the last game. He has 125 runs in the last 6 matches and is the most experienced batter.
Tom Latham will open alongside him after scores of 7 and 11 in the first 2 games. Tim Robinson will bat at number three with 568 runs in 26 T20Is at a strike rate of 138.86, but he has scored just 7 runs in this series.
Nick Kelly will add 21 off 12 in the last game, while Mitchell Santner will contribute with 35 runs and 3 wickets in 2 matches and 138 runs in the last 7 games. James Neesham will have 59 runs and 5 wickets in 4 games at Auckland. Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears picked 3 wickets each in the last match, with Ferguson holding 7 in 7 games.
Conway, Ferguson and Santner are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Devon Conway, Tom Latham (wk), Tim Robinson, Nick Kelly, Cole McConchie, James Neesham, Josh Clarkson, Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner (c), Ben Sears, Kyle Jamieson.
SA lost momentum after a strong win in the first match and suffered a 68-run defeat in the second game. Wiaan Mulder opened the innings and scored 16 off 20, while Connor Esterhuizen followed his unbeaten 45 in the first game with just 8 runs. Tony de Zorzi struggled at number three with only 3 runs in 2 matches.
Jason Smith scored 22 runs, while Dian Forrester managed 26 runs in 2 games. George Linde delivered a quick 33 off 12 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes.
He now has 366 runs in 24 innings at a strike rate of 150 and 34 wickets at an economy of 7.45. Keshav Maharaj picked up 2 wickets in the first game and 1 in the second. Wiaan Mulder also took 2 wickets in the last match.
Mulder, Maharaj and Linde are the players.
Predicted Lineup: Wiaan Mulder, Connor Esterhuizen (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Jason Smith, Dian Forrester, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj (c), Nqobani Mokoena, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee.
New Zealand will go into this match with confidence after a strong all-round performance in the last game. Their batting unit posted 175, and the bowlers bundled South Africa out for 107.
That momentum will give them an edge in this match. However, their record at Auckland remains a concern, with just 2 wins in the last 6 matches, both while defending totals.
Mitchell Santner will play a key role again at this venue. He already has 15 wickets here at an economy of 8.2 and has picked up 3 wickets in the last 2 games of the series. With South Africaβs batting struggling against spin and pressure from dot balls, Santner will create chances in the middle overs and is expected to take multiple wickets.
