The opening ODI between South Africa and Bangladesh takes place on Sunday when the two sides meet in Kimberley. With this being just a three match series there is a real onus on getting off to a fast start so we should be in for a good game of cricket on a ground which usually delivers conditions for good limited overs contests.
South Africa
It is a pretty big summer for South Africa and they have the chance to lay a limited overs marker down here. I’ll be interested to see how seriously they take the contest though. To be fair they were right on it in both Test matches that were played recently but the fact the three matches are on lesser grounds suggests it may not be the key priority.
That said, they have picked a strong looking squad for the three matches so while the series might be played in the back parts of South Africa the home side should be competitive. They need an emphatic series after a disappointing time of it in England although in fairness England are a tough challenge these days.
Bangladesh
This is a Bangladesh side who are very much on the up and they have another chance to show that. They went to the Champions Trophy with everyone expecting them to be making up the numbers but they made the semi-final and that came a couple of years after making the World Cup quarter finals so they’ve done it on the biggest stages in all conditions.
They will be tested here with some injuries that they have so this is a good chance to show that it is not just their first XI which has improved but that they have a depth pool which they can rely on which is becoming increasingly important in the modern game. They will need to bowl well to win this match but the days of writing this side off are long gone in this format.
Team News
South Africa have brought the heavyweights back for this series. AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller are all included while with the ball Imran Tahir is back too. Dwaine Pretorius may be one who sits out.
Bangladesh suffered a blow on the eve of the series when Mustafizur Rahman was ruled out of the early stages of it, if not the entirety of the series. Tamim Iqbal has been in the nets and could play. Liton Das may get a start while Shakib is back for this format.
Diamond Oval
There have been 12 previous ODIs held on this ground although South Africa have only played here on seven occasions. They have won five of those matches and lost just two of them. Bangladesh have lost both their matches here although they were in 2002 and 2003 and they are a different side now.
This is usually a flat wicket and although the last ODI here was in 2013 there have been some high scores on this ground. With the way the game has changed since then we should expect another high scoring clash in this one.
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Betting
I have to say I’m tempted to have a nibble at Bangladesh at the prices and if Tamim ends up playing I might yet get involved in them but the doubt over him has me playing with a little bit of caution in this preview. There are two bets that I like though.
I’ve said above that I think this match will be high scoring. Bangladesh showed in the Champions Trophy that they can bat against the better attacks but we also saw that they struggle to contain opposing batting units for a full 50 overs and with no Mustafizur around that is only likely to be heightened. With that in mind I think the over 449.5 runs is something of a gift.
I get why it is so low because of how Bangladesh went with the bat in the Test series but Shakib being back makes such a difference to their batting unit. If South Africa bat first it might not matter if Bangladesh collapse anyway. That line looks too low to me.
I’m also going to take a chance on a man who has a wonderful domestic record on this ground in David Miller. He has nailed three massive tons here and if South Africa can just find a couple of new ball wickets he’s bang in the game. Even if they get nowhere with the new ball their bowling at the death is a weakness and Miller could tuck in at that point. At 8/1 he’s worth a tickle to top score.
Tips
WON – Back Over 449.5 runs for a 6/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back it here:
Back D.Miller Top South Africa Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 9.00 with Betbright
Back him here:
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