West Indies eye improved show as South Africa host first-ever Pink Day T20I

It’s been a short but sweet international summer for South Africa with just the three T20Is against West Indies, but they’ll say winning a first series in six in the format and a first under coach Shukri Conrad was worth it. The third and final match will serve as a send-off for the side, whose next assignment is the T20 World Cup, and a celebration as the annual Pink Day is held.

Because South Africa are not hosting any ODIs this summer, the match aimed at increasing awareness and raising funds for the fight against breast cancer will coincide with this match. This is the first time South Africa will play a T20I in pink. They generally have a good record in the colour, which may worry the men in maroon.

West Indies have not shown off their best selves so far, even though their batting has improved over the two matches. They may fancy chasing, given that they set targets at both Boland and SuperSport Park, and it could provide an opportunity to present a different side of the game, but the other thing they have to work on is taking wickets. In two matches, they have taken only four wickets, while South Africa have taken ten.

Both sides will set off for the T20 World Cup after this match and though they have warm-up games there, this will be their final opportunity for a competitive tune-up.

South Africa WWLLW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
West Indies LLWLL

With the top order doing the bulk of the work, there hasn’t been much opportunity for Jason Smith to show off the finishing skills he was picked for and will hope to get his chance in this match. There is still uncertainty over David Miller’s T20 World Cup availability as he recovers from a groin injury, which makes Smith a more certain starter, and the opportunity to get some game time pre-tournament will be crucial for him.

Given the margins of defeat in the first two matches, it’s fair to say West Indies must improve all areas of their game but they will specifically look at the their fielding. They put down two key batters with costly results in both previous games. Aiden Markram was dropped on 27 in the first match and went on to make a match-winning 86 not out, while Ryan Rickelton had a let-off on 17 in the second game and finished with a career-best 77 not out. Other than those two, they have been sloppy near the boundary and have to tighten up as a major tournament looms.

South Africa are likely to keep the same batting order as in the previous matches. They may look to change up the bowling with Lungi Ngidi yet to get a game.

South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock, 3 Ryan Rickleton (wk), 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Jason Smith, 6 Corbin Bosch, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj/George Linde, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi

There has been no sign of Shamar Joseph in the series so far and if there is a ground to use him on, it’s this one. West Indies may also look to give their T20 World Cup wild card pick Quentin Sampson a run in a competitive match ahead of the tournament.

West Indies (probable): 1 Brandon King, 2 Shai Hope (capt, wk), 3 Roston Chase, 4 Quentin Sampson, 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Rovmann Powell, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Shamar Joseph, 11 Jayden Seales

Runs have come aplenty at the Wanderers. The first SA20 match of the season was a 410-run fest and went to a Super Over. Two games later, MI Cape Town scored 234 for 3 and Joburg Super Kings fell two runs short of 200 in another high-scoring game. More eyes are likely to be on the skies after a summer of much-needed but heavy rains in Johannesburg. There are some afternoon showers forecast, but they should clear by the time the match starts.

“Wickets in India change from day to night. We’ve always spoken about the South African batters being adaptable in our games. Everybody needs to play multiple roles. It’s just a matter of adding options, knowledge of the game and when to pull the trigger. There are still some youngsters, and we still try to help them where we can.”
Quinton de Kock is taking his role as a senior member of the side seriously

ESPNCricinfo