South Africa took the lead in their ODI series against New Zealand with a hard fought win on Wednesday and they have the chance to sew up the series when the two sides meet for the second ODI in Potchefstroom on Sunday.
New Zealand head into the match knowing if they want to win the series they are in no lose territory and with the forecast set perfect there will be a result in this match which is good.
South Africa have confirmed that Faf du Plessis will miss the series with the injury he picked up going into the T20 series so the Proteas are expected to name the same batting line up and although David Wiese wasn’t at his best at Centurion he is likely to be given another chance to stamp his mark on the all-rounders role.
New Zealand will be concerned over the fitness of Martin Guptill. He picked up a hand injury in the previous match and was unable to open the batting. Although he eventually did bat he clearly has a problem and he’ll need to prove his fitness. The Kiwis might also rotate their bowlers ahead of a busy period of time.
Senwes Park in Potchefstroom hosts this second match of the series. This will be the 18th official ODI to be held at this venue but the first in two years so it has captured the imagination of the locals and a big crowd is expected. The wicket here is generally a road so the batsmen should be enjoying themselves throughout.
South Africa have played eight matches on this ground and haven’t lost yet. They’ve tied one and had a no result and won the other six. New Zealand have played here twice and are yet to pick up their first win.
Having backed South Africa to win the series 3-0 I’m effectively already on them here and I’m happy with that but there is a bet which has caught my eye in the batsmen markets.
Rilee Rossouw has enjoyed life against New Zealand so far. In the two T20s he managed scores of 38 and 26 and he began this ODI series with 89 even though he wasn’t all that fluent to begin with. He is really blossoming into international cricket and on a wicket expected to be good for the batsmen it is worth taking him to continue his good form and cover what looks a modest run line based on his efforts in the series to date.
Back R.Rossouw Over 25.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Ladbrokes
