Date – Friday, 28th February 2020
Time – 3 pm (Local Time), 9:30 am (IST)
Venue – Manuka Oval, Canberra
With Pakistan’s recent victory against West Indies, Group B – comprising of England, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, and Thailand – have been thrown open again with England, South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan each now having a win under their belt. All these four teams are still in contention for two semi-final berths. South Africa has played only one game in the tournament and scored a thumping win against favorites England and will be quite confident heading to their next game against Thailand. If they win this match, they will be the group toppers and will be a lot closer to securing their spot in the playoffs.
Thailand has played two games in this tournament and must have figured out what it is like to play against tougher sides. They were hammered by England, but will not be too affected by that as it was largely expected. South Africa can possess a similar challenge for them, but their emphasis will be on learning from each game and not worrying too much about the results.
South Africa Vs Thailand – Head-to-Head
South Africa has never faced Thailand in this format. Although they may not have experienced each other first-hand, it is fair to say, going by the relative strength of the teams and how they have fared so far, that South Africa should emerge victoriously and consolidate their position in the group table.
Form Guide
South Africa – WLWLL
Thailand – LLLWW
(Last 5 completed matches)
South Africa has recently lost the T20I series during their recent tour of New Zealand 3-1. However, they will be buoyed after winning a tense game against tournament favorites England. They had also won the ODI leg of their tour to New Zealand which will also add to their confidence.
Thailand may have enjoyed a good run in the Qualifiers tournament but are now seeing a very different level of competition facing West Indies and England. Their losses would not affect them much as this is more of a learning tournament for them. They will just be satisfied getting as much out of this game as possible.
Teams
South Africa Squad – Dane van Niekerk (captain), Chloe Tryon, Trisha Chetty, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Nadine de Klerk, Lizelle Lee, Suné Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Mignon du Preez, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Laura Wolvaardt
The South African side has an experienced group of core players who will be expected to make heavy contributions throughout the tournament. Lizelle Lee is a hard-hitting batter and can take on the bowling early in the innings. Dane van Niekerk is a reliable all-rounder along with Marizanne Kapp, Mignon du Preez, and Sune Luus. Shabnim Ismail will be expected to lead a relatively inexperienced bowling unit consisting of Tumi Sekhukhune, Masabata Klaas, Ayabonga Khaka, Nondumiso Shangase and Nonkululeko Mlaba. The all-rounders will also be contributing quite heavily with the ball.
Thailand Squad – Sornnarin Tippoch (captain), Nattaya Boochatham, Naruemol Chaiwai, Nattakan Chantam, Onnicha Kamchomphu, Rosenan Kanoh, Suwanan Khiaoto, Nannapat Koncharoenkai (wicket-keeper), Suleeporn Laomi, Soraya Lateh, Wongpaka Liengprasert, Phannita Maya, Ratanaporn Padunglerd, Thipatcha Putthawong, Chanida Sutthiruang
The Thailand team also has a bit of experience at the T20I level with 10 of their 15 players having played at least 30 T20Is. Naruemol Chaiwai and Nattakan Chantam, Sornnarin Tippoch and Nattaya Boochatham form the batting core and have scored half-centuries in this format. Chanida Sutthiruang and Suleeporn Laomi are their main bowlers
Likely XIs
South Africa – Considering the relative strength of the opposite number, South Africa may want to give a game to their benched players, which means players like Masabata Klaas might get a game replacing Trisha Chetty. Lizelle Lee may take over the wicket-keeping duties for the game.
Likely Playing XI – Dane van Niekerk (captain), Lizelle Lee, Marizanne Kapp, Chloe Tryon, Mignon du Preez, Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Nondumiso Shangase
Thailand – Thailand may be going with their settled combination and is not expected to tinker their playing XI for this match.
Likely Playing XI – Sornnarin Tippoch (captain), Nattaya Boochatham, Naruemol Chaiwai, Nattakan Chantam, Onnicha Kamchomphu, Nannapat Koncharoenkai (wicket-keeper), Suleeporn Laomi, Soraya Lateh, Wongpaka Liengprasert, Ratanaporn Padunglerd, Chanida Sutthiruang
Players to Watch out for
Lizelle Lee (South Africa) – South Africa’s hard-hitting opener will set the tone for her side while batting. Having scored 1500+ runs with as many as 11 half-centuries and a strike rate of over a run-a-ball, she will look to score rapidly looking forward to building a strong foundation for her team. Her contribution will help South Africa in building the score further with the help of their experienced all-rounders.
Dan van Niekerk (South Africa) – Dan van Niekerk, is a very capable middle-order batter and will be looking to anchor the innings should the openers fail. She has played 79 T20Is scoring 1776 runs with as many as 10 half-centuries. She has also picked up 59 wickets, showing that she is an effective bowler as well, to add to her batting skills. She leads from the front, as she did in the last game, picking up 2 wickets and scoring 46 runs off 51 balls to guide South Africa to victory.
Marizanne Kapp (South Africa) – Another experienced player for South Africa, Marizanne Kapp is an asset for South Africa. Playing 77 T20Is till date, she has picked up 58 wickets at an average of just over 20 runs per wicket. She has also scored over 900 runs with one-half-century to her name. She had a great game against England, picking up 2 wickets before making a match-defining 38 runs off 33 balls to propel South Africa towards victory.
Ayabonga Khaka (South Africa) – This talented pace bowler was also instrumental in setting up the win against England. She picked up 3 wickets in the match, including that of the dangerous Nat Sciver, to restrict England to a manageable 123, which they could successfully chase down. She can prove to be a challenging bowler to deal with for Thailand.
Pitch & Conditions
The match between South Africa and Thailand will be played in Manuka Oval, Canberra. 11 Women’s T20Is played at this venue with teams batting first winning 5 times while teams batting second has won 6 times. At the time of writing, it has hosted 2 games in which the team batting first and second winning a game each. The average score batting first is a decent 143. All these indicators suggest that toss may not be a deciding factor in the game.
The weather is expected to be pleasant with the temperature between 14 and 26 degrees Celsius. The skies are expected to stay sunny and clear with no chance of rain.
Will South Africa win and get closer to the playoff berth? We can’t wait to find out. Follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.