3 key battles to watch out for ahead of Australia vs South Africa

The bandwagon of the ODI World Cup is underway. Every team has played their first match. We have seen glimpses of every side. Now, everyone has their sight set on a heavyweight clash between Australia and South Africa. If we talk about the head-to-head record in the Aussie-Proteas encounter, the Australians have an edge. Both sides have faced each other six times and the Aussies have won three of them whereas the Proteas have dominated Australia on a couple of occasions, and one game ended in a tie. The record shows how tightly balanced this equation has been and it will be no different this time around as well. South Africa is coming at the back of an emphatic victory against Sri Lanka but the Aussies have not started their campaign the way they would have wanted. The Kangaroos would be looking to fight back and bring themselves back on track. 

Let’s look at 3 key battles to watch out for Australia vs South Africa clash: 

1. Mitchell Starc Vs Quinton De Kock

This will be one of the key contests in the game. Quinton de Kock has been in fantastic form. He also scored a brilliant century against Sri Lanka in their campaign opener in Delhi. His knock of 100 off 84 balls put South Africa in a very comfortable position and gave license to players like Markram and Van Der Dussen to strike hard and take South Africa to a huge total. 

But this time around the challenge in front of De Kock will be tougher. Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc would be raring to go and operate on all cylinders against South Africa as Australia will be desperately looking for their first victory in the tournament. Starc started his spell against India with a quick dismissal of Ishan Kishan. He could not add any more wickets to his tally but looked very sharp and that is the reason why this contest might define the game. 

2. Aiden Markram vs Adam Zampa

On a slow and turning Lucknow track this battle would be very interesting to watch. In the first match against Sri Lanka Aiden Markram scored the fastest century in the history of the ODI World Cup. He smashed the Lankan bowlers left, right, and center and blew them out of the contest. But it won’t be a cakewalk for Markram against Australia. 

This will be a battle in middle overs. On a turning Ekana pitch Adam Zampa would be looking to dominate, particularly in middle overs, and it is that phase when Markram bats. Aiden Markram won’t find it easy to hit Zampa at will. Whoever wins this contest will give an edge to their side. 

3. Kagiso Rabada vs David Warner

David Warner has looked in good nick recently. The left-handed opener found a good start against India as well but could not convert that start into a big knock. When Warner and Smith were on the crease Australia was settled but Warner’s dismissal put the Aussies under tremendous pressure and Rabada would be looking to do the same in this match. 

In the powerplay, we will be seeing this battle unfold. Rabada would look to dismiss Warner with the new ball and put South Africa in front right at the start. This match would be a contest where Australia would want to settle quickly because they are coming at the back of a loss and a few early dismissals might create a panic in the Aussie batting order. It would be crucial for Australia that Warner contains Rabada.