It’s not often South Africa start any game of cricket in their own back yard as underdogs. But that’s exactly how the bookies see game two after the Gayle storm in the first match of the series. The Windies have rushed to the favourites tag for the Johannesburg encounter. A tag that is rightly placed when you look through their talented team.
The altitude at Wanderers could see Gayle and his teammates hit the ball even further. A scary prospect for the South African team given Gayle has a history of scoring runs at this ground. A repeat of his World T20 effort in 2007 in which he scored 117 off 57 balls would put the series well and truly to bed.
The Last Time These Two Met
In game one Chris Gayle single handedly destroyed the South African chances with the fastest T20 fifty in his country’s history. He bullied his way to 77 off 31 balls in a masterclass that featured 8 sixes and 23 off a Wayne Parnell over. Gayle’s return buoyed his team and despite a lat wobble, got home with four wickets in hand and four balls to spare.
The Teams
South Africa (likely): 1 Morne van Wyk (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Farhaan Behardien, 6 David Miller, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 David Wiese, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Marchant de Lange, 11 Imran Tahir
We featured Marchant de Lange in our preview for game one and he missed out. He may get a run at the expense of young Rabada in one of the few expected changes.
West Indies (likely): 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Dwayne Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Jason Holder, 10 Ashley Nurse, 11 Sheldon Cottrell
Probably no reason to make any changes to the side. Although Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have missed out on World Cup selection so may not be used. If they are, expect (angry) fireworks.
The Key Players
Rilee Rossouw – An excellent fifty at Newlands has helped solidify the hype on the young left hander that first cam about during his trip to Australia in November. During the T20 and ODI series there he scored valuable runs in an attractive manner. He must be pushing for Miller’s middle order place, or Duminy’s if he can’t get himself fit. He’s the favourite to top score along with his captain Faf du Plessis.
Dwayne Smith – While all the attention was on Chris Gayle in the series opener, Smith quietly (in comparison) went about his business, forging an excellent partnership with the former captain. His work ended on 20, but he helped the West Indies get off to an incredible start that eventually sealed the result. Smith is now an experienced T20 traveller in his own right with plenty of experience to boot. He’s paying $5.00 to top score if you can consider any one other than Gayle.
The Odds*
South Africa – $1.95
West Indies – $1.85
*International Cricket odds courtesy of Unibet Australia.
The Prediction
The nice thing about the West Indies side is that if Gayle doesn’t come off they still have the players to win the game. Smith, Simmons, Pollard and Sammy can all change a game with bat and hand, and for those reasons we’re picking them to go back to back.
