POST MATCH REVIEW
Ireland beat South Africa for the first time in any format of the game. After failing in the previous 5 attempts , the determined Irish men faced South Africa in the series opener where their batters had laid a solid foundation. Moments later, the game was called off due to rain. Ireland would have been the more disappointed team as compared to South Africa.
During the second game it was the same story again, their captain led from the front and anchored them till the 42nd over, Balbrine brought up his seventh ton in this format and was ably assisted by the late flourish from Dockrell and Tector which made Ireland score their highest total against South Africa. The Irish were also helped by some really poor bowling in the death and to add salt to their wound the Proteas dropped 4 catches as well. The momentum that the Irish gained from their batting continued in their bowling as well. They removed both Markram and the skipper Bavuma in quick succession and no batter except Janneman Malan (84) put their step on the gas. Miller , Maharaj and Rabada tried their level best but it proved out to be too much for them in the end. The combined bowling effort from the Ireland bowlers ensured that they didn't let the opponent cut loose. Simi Singh was the only one who looked off colour but the others did their job to perfection.
LET DOWNS
Leaving out De Kock in the first game was understandable as they gave chance to the young Verreynne but after the washout considering it's just a 3 game series, leaving him out again was a big surprise as he was rested and was not injured. Another blunder that they made was excluding Ngidi. Though, Nortje is the first choice pacer after Rabada, Ngidi had a pretty decent outing in the first game and we feel that he shouldn't have been left out over a half-fit Nortje.
3RD ODI PREVIEW
With this historic victory, Ireland have taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in this series which makes the final game a must win for South Africa. We expect De Kock to return and South Africa to bounce back but one would surely relish seeing Ireland win the series. The Irish have already created a lot of upsets in the past during the course of various World Cups but winning a bilateral series against South Africa will be a great achievement too add to their history. They were so close to achieving it last year when they beat England but lose in another close encounter of the series and ended up losing the series.
FANTASY TEAMS
Safe XI: DE KOCK (VC), P STIRLING (C), A BALBIRNIE, VAN DER DUSSEN, D MILLER, S SINGH, A MCBRINE, K MAHARAJ, J LITTLE. K RABADA, T SHAMSI
Risky XI: P STIRLING, A MARKRAM, A BALBIRNIE (VC), T BAVUMA, L TUCKER, M ADAIR, G LINDE, G DOCKRELL, C YOUNG, L NGIDI, T SHAMSI (C)
PROBABLE PLAYING XI
SOUTH AFRICA: DE KOCK (WK), MARKRAM, T BAVUMA (C), VAN DER DUSSEN, D MILLER, G LINDE, A PHEHLUKWAYO, K MAHARAJ, K RABADA, T SHAMSI, A NORTJE
IRELAND: P STIRLING, W PORTERFIELD, A BALBIRNIE (C), L TUCKER(WK), M ADAIR, S SINGH, G DOCKRELL, A MCBRINE, J LITTLE, B MCARTHY, C YOUNG
