New Zealand v South Africa 1st ODI Prediction

The seventh ranked team in the ICC ODI Championship, New Zealand, with a rating of 98, will collide with the no.3 squad, South Africa. Both countries have played 58 matches, the Proteas have an edge by winning 34, the Kiwis lost 20 and four of them finished without any result.

The visitors have recently beaten the Lankan Lions 2-1 in Sri Lanka, won against the hosts Zimbabwe 2-0 and lifted Zimbabwe Triangular Series, 2014, trophy after defeating Australia by six wickets in the final.

New Zealand crushed the full blooded Indian side 4-0 in the five match home series in January, 2014, under the leadership of Brendon McCullum. Earlier, the ODI series against West Indies ended in a 2-2 draw at home so the Kiwis are in high spirit and the forthcoming three matches will be packed with thrill.

Players to watch

The hosts will miss the services of their star players, Ross Taylor and Adam Milne, since both of them are facing injuries while Kane Williamson is set to miss the first game because of a wrist problem. Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Jesse Ryder. Jimmy Neesham and Luke Ronchi will look after their batting whereas the bowling department will be covered by Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan and Nathan McCullum.

The formidable batting line up of South Africa will be guarded by AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and David Miller. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Wayne Parnell and Imran Tahir have the ability to demolish the rival batting.

Time & Venue

Tuesday, October 21, 2014 @ 21:30 GMT, 10:30 local at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. The venue was inaugurated in 2007, has the capacity of 10,000 and the first International match was played on January 28, 2014, between Canada and Netherlands which was won by the latter by eight wickets. The Kiwis will play their first ever international game there against the visiting Proteas.

Weather

Partly cloudy but cold weather with the temperatures around 11-18ᵒC.

Toss

The winning captain will prefer to set a hefty target to be defended.

The Pitch

The surface is going to be more beneficial for the pace bowlers in the early overs of the game and batsmen can find it easy going later on.

Teams

Expected New Zealand squad – Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Corey Anderson, BJ Watling, Tom Latham, Jimmy Neesham, Colin Munro, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan, Matt Henry,

South Africa – AB de Villiers (C), Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott, Quinton de Kock, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn.

Prediction

Keeping in view the injury problems to the key players of the home side, the Proteas will be the most likely winners.