Australia v South Africa 4th ODI Prediction

Australia continued their dominance against South Africa after winning the third One Day International by a clear difference of 73 runs and leads the five match series at 2-1. The kangaroos piled up 329 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allocated 50 overs and the entire Proteas side was sent back to the pavilion for 256 in 44.3 overs. The tourists were chasing the target smoothly as their fourth wicket was dislodged at 224 but their last six batsmen surrendered for 32 mere runs. The hosts proved stronger even after the absence of their key players that will boost their confidence for the remaining two matches.

Players to watch

Aaron Finch smashed 109 and shared an opening wicket stand of 118 with David Warner who scored 53 in the third ODI. Steven Smith demonstrated a hurried knock of 73 from 55 balls and Shane Watson contributed 40 runs while George Bailey and Mitchell Marsh are among runs. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ripped through the rival batting and the duo grabbed four and three wickets respectively.

Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock gave a positive opening partnership of 108 to the South African side but their late and middle order batting collapsed. The pair scored 102 and 47 runs, AB de Villiers posted 52 while rest of their batting has not blossomed in the previous three games. Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander have taken most wickets whereas Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir have yet to shine.

Time & Venue

Friday, November 21, 2014 @ 03:20 GMT, 14:20 local at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Weather

Mostly sunny during the day with the temperatures around 12-24ᵒC.

Toss

The home side will prefer to bat and the visitors will opt to field first after winning the toss.

The Pitch

The Kangaroos bowlers were unplayable by the Proteas batsmen in the 2^nd T20 of the series and the hosts won the game by seven wickets so the wicket will favour the quickies again.

Teams

Australia squad George Bailey (C), Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Xavier Doherty, Josh Hazlewood.

South Africa – AB de Villiers (C), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, Faf du Plessis, Farhaan Behardien, David Miller, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir.

Prediction

Team Australia has gained a lot of confidence and can win the coming encounter.