England vs South Africa Match 39 Predictions, Odds, Picks

• Though it will take a miracle to knock England out of the semi-finals race, a win here will provide the official confirmation.
• The outcome of the afternoon game between Australia and West Indies will decide whether South Africa needs only a win from this match, or a win by a massive margin.
• Picking up wickets in the middle phases will be crucial for South Africa. In their last three matches, England have lost only one wicket between overs 6 to 12.

England vs South Africa Odds

Odds taken from bet365

There is not much to separate the two teams when it comes to head-to-head records. England have beaten South Africa eleven times, while the Proteas have got the better of the Three Lions on nine occasions. Recent results, however, are heavily inclined in favour of England, who have emerged victoriously in all of their last five T20I matches against South Africa. Given their form in the T20 World Cup 2021, England are the firm favourites to win this match.

England to win (-227)

Predicted XI

England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood/Reece Topley

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Heinrich Klaasen/Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shams

England and South Africa to Take Part in Concluding Act of Group 1

The reigning world champions of the 50-over format, England are showing why they are equally intimidating across all formats, as they have hardly put a foot wrong in this tournament. Eoin Morgan’s men have been fantastic with the ball, flawless in the field, and ruthless with the bat. They have won all of their first four matches and are sitting at the top of the Group 1 standings.

Though they are not officially through to the semi-finals yet, it will take a defeat by an obscenely huge margin to knock England off their perch. Their final Super 12 fixture will be against South Africa. In a campaign full of drama and contradictions, in both cricketing and non-cricketing terms, South Africa have somehow managed to keep their hopes alive till their last match. The men from the rainbow nation will first require a help from West Indies in Saturday’s first game, and if that is not coming, they might need a massive win against the tournament favourites.

Team News

Having won all of their four matches in this competition, the ideal case scenario for England would have been to stick with the same playing XI for the rest of the competition. However, a thigh strain has ruled Tymal Mills out of the tournament, and now the Three Lions management will face a dilemma in choosing the right alternative. Reece Topley, who has been called up as a replacement, will provide a like-for-like left-arm option, while Mark Wood can also do a decent job.

As for South Africa, they looked pretty convincing in their last outing against Bangladesh. Temba Bavuma and the South African think tank are likely to field an unchanged lineup, but there is room for a change. After a disappointing last match, Reeza Hendricks could be dropped for Heinrich Klaasen, who can play the finisher’s role for the Proteas.

Key Players

Jos Buttler: Jos Buttler is having another fantastic tournament, as he has been England’s one-man army with the bat. The Somerset lad has scored 214 runs – 111 more than any other batter from his team. His last innings against Sri Lanka was the best possible example of how to score runs on UAE pitches. The 31-year-old scored unbeaten 101 runs in that match, while in the game before that against Australia, he smashed 71 runs, remaining unbeaten there as well.

Anrich Nortje: Not many have been able to carry their Indian Premier League form into this competition, but Anrich Nortje is an exception on that list. The South African speedster is leading the wicket-taking charts for his nation, having picked up 8 wickets. In the last match against Bangladesh, he picked up a three-wicket haul by conceding only eight runs.

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