With the 2nd T20I between South Africa and West Indies almost underway, this is an important dress rehearsal for both sides before their T20 World Cup campaigns begin. Ahead of this contest check out our South Africa vs West Indies preview, pitch report, probable playing Xi and match winner prediction.
As the Proteas have a 1-0 lead in this series and are looking to fire back with another win, their opponents, the Windies, hope to find any sort of luck. Seeing that this specific series was played before the 2024 World Cup as well, it had been good practice for both sides and hopes to be once again. This second match will be played on January 29th at 9:30 P.M. IST in Centurion, South Africa.
South Africa vs West Indies Props
- South Africa Bat 1st: They will score 180-190 runs for 7 wickets lost
- West Indies Bat 1st: They will score 170-175 runs for 6 wickets lost
- South Africa Bat 2nd: They will win by 4 to 5 wickets
- West Indies Bat 2nd: They will lose by 15 to 20 runs
South Africa vs West Indies Preview
South Africa Preview
Looking at the South African unit, this is one of those groups that hopes to re-group from their past choking struggles and win a 2nd ICC trophy within one year.
Seeing that captain Aiden Markram will lead the side, he should be a vital opening batsmen who displayed power and class throughout his career. Someone who scored 1663 runs in just 67 matches and hit 11 half-centuries, he will potentially open with Lhaun-Dre Pretorious, given that Quinton De Kock is getting rest. As Pretorius was able to have a very classy 44-run knock last match, the young star is becoming more of an aggressive player as well.
As Dewald Brevis, 469 runs, will come in as a clean-finisher at three-down, this is someone who can go from the first ball. Hoping for this unit’s trump card in Tristan Stubbs to play this match, his posh ability really will help guide this team to victory whenever needed. Closing it out, Marco Jansen and George Linde should provide with the bat as well.
On the bowling attack, Kagiso Rabada will lead the charge as he has taken 77 wickets during his first 71 matches. Someone who has great accuracy and pace, while always finding the right line, it will help for him to practice lowering his economy during this series.
With Keshav Maharaj and George Linde, 31 wickets, being the two main spinners, this bowling attack is very well-rounded to succeed.
West Indies Preview
For West Indies, things are a little different as they head into this match under a lot of pressure and really need to succeed after recent struggles. A group that managed to lose to Nepal and Afghanistan in recent series, their hope is to get to a very high point once again. Seeing that Brandon King, 14 T20I half-centuries, has been an amazing opener for this unit and brought in some energy, he can play with both aggression plus class.
Given that Shai Hope is a similar player across him and has had a rapid growth in this format as well, it will let them score early runs, while Johnson Charles will come at one-down to play with power. If for some reason Hope doesn’t play, Johnson will be up the order, and they may stick with a surprise like putting Matthew Forde at one-down.
Looking down the order, Shimron Hetmyer has shown a career resurgence too after hitting 48 runs last match and proving that he can once again be the finisher West Indies hoped for him. If that remains true and Sherfane Rutherford, 594 runs in 45 matches, can get into his league's form, that will be an amazing left-handed combo. Hoping that Roston Chase gets back into form as well, Jason Holder and Romario Shepard will close out the batting.
Bowling-wise, this unit really needs to make sure that their pacers understand the target ahead and not just leak runs very easily. Their main pacer, Jayden Seales, 7 wickets in 8 matches, has struggled to use the same skills which have helped him dominate other formats, while Shamar Joseph will be looking to recover well after being ruled out of this series. With no Alzarri Joseph in the mix either, their second most important bowler becomes Jason Holder, who is looking for 100 T20I wickets in a short time.
South Africa vs West Indies 2nd T20I Match Prediction
Given that the Centurion ground is very batting-friendly and favors power hitters, this should end up being a pretty high-scoring match. With South Africa featuring many big-time swingers like Dewald Brevis and Aiden Markram, the West Indies bowling attack might have a struggle getting them out.
For the Proteas, their bowling attack has still been pretty solid, which will ensure them to be on top even when the West Indies have dangerous players like Sherfane Rutherford, plus Shimron Hetmyer. Given this, South Africa should win convincingly and take the series to 2-0.
