We already know that New Zealand and South Africa will contest the final of the Zimbabwe T20 tri-series at the end of the week and they have a dress rehearsal for that match on Tuesday when they meet in game five of the tournament.
New Zealand will have this match and one more to finalise their preparations for the final while this is the last of the round robin matches for the South Africans so it might be that this one has a little more importance on it for them.
New Zealand
New Zealand probably arrived in the tournament as the favourites to win it. They are the one team who haven’t got too many absences from what you would call their strongest squad and they have made it count so far with a couple of very comfortable victories which has already secured their spot in the final. You would think that they will use the next two matches to try out their squad and ensure everyone who needs to make an impact for their confidence has the opportunity to do it.
The big thing for New Zealand is that they look like a good side with the bat. The injury to Glenn Phillips was unfortunate but they still have an extremely experienced top five who can either pile on the runs or repair the damage to an innings if that is the case. The pleasing thing for the Kiwis will be that despite the fact that they are going through a bit of a transition period with the ball, they are still getting the job done which bodes well.
South Africa
South Africa have put in two solid enough performances against Zimbabwe in this tournament but they fell a long way short against New Zealand the first time around and now get the chance to show that they have learned from that and can not just close the gap on the two teams but actually get the better of them. In terms of winning the tournament they would rather have the win on Saturday, but victory here would at least let New Zealand know they are going to have their work cut out in the final.
The South Africa batting is the least experienced part of their game in this competition but the longer it has gone on the better it has started to look. They will be hoping for further improvement from that department and if they can get it then they certainly have enough quality in their bowling attack to get the job done. They have been rotating that attack around in the competition and you would imagine they won’t be at full strength until the final so it will be interesting to see how they go here.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on the series (min odds 1/2) to get £20 in free bets (2x£10 free bets) to use on any sports market! Click the image below to take advantage of this great offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly.
Team News
New Zealand rotated their team between game one and game two and the likes of Tim Robinson, Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Hay will be hoping that they get another chance to shine in this match having sat out the last one.
South Africa are rotating their bowlers which means that this could be another chance for the likes of Nandre Burger, Kwena Maphaka and Senuran Muthusamy to shine and prove that they are worthy of a place in the final.
Betting
Dead rubbers rarely get my juices flowing and this one certainly doesn’t but I wonder if there is a point in taking Corbin Bosch to top score for South Africa in this match. I’m not sure that there is a scenario in which he would go up the order but numbers 3-5 have been scoring runs regularly so it might be that they try and get some time at the crease for those who need it so I wouldn’t be massively surprised were Bosch to be moved up the order.
He might not need to be though because in the opening match of the series he came in at six and clobbered 23* to win South Africa the game. We know he is in decent form with the bat because he made a century in the opening Test against Zimbabwe so if he is given the chance he might be able to do some damage here. New Zealand have enough with the new ball to keep the top score honest. The South Africa top score in the first game between these two was 35 and that was from the number six which is roughly where we’ll see Bosch going in. At 25/1 there is enough of a way in for him to a) give us a runner at a big price, and b) give us a good run for our money. I’ll pay to see how he gets on here.
Tips
Back C.Bosch Top South Africa Batter for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Boylesports
Back him here:
