IRELAND VS SOUTH AFRICA MATCH DETAILS:

Match: Ireland vs South Africa, 1st T20I, South Africa vs Ireland in England, 2022

Date and Time: Wednesday, August 3, 2022, 11:00 pm IST

Venue: County Ground, Bristol

We often do not see full-member sides taking on the recently anointed ones or the associate sides as frequently as the fans would want. However, Ireland and Scotland hosting some of the full-member sides in recent times is certainly a breath of fresh air. While these sides weren’t able to get the result they would have desperately wanted, they certainly managed to give a tough fight to the full-member teams.

Ireland is now set to host South Africa in what will be an important series for both these sides. Ireland has been constantly pushing the higher-seeded sides only to miss out at the end and will want to fix that. They’ll also want to prepare well for the ICC World T20 – Australia. South Africa, on the other hand, has a relatively young side and will want to zero in on a combination for the marquee ICC event.

Ireland and South Africa are set to meet for a two-match series before South Africa heads to play the longest format of the game against England. The first of the two T20Is is to be played on August 3, 2022, at the County Ground, Bristol.

IRELAND

Before this series, Ireland has hosted India and New Zealand this season so far and although they did manage to leave a positive impression, they were not able to get the desired results. Ireland is already through to the T20 World Cup but ever since qualifying for the event, they have lost six matches. Some of those have been mighty close and those are the things that Ireland will be looking to work on the most going forward in their journey.

Just like the other teams, Ireland will be looking to fine-tune their team before the World Cup. They still have plenty of time to do so, including a five-match series against Afghanistan, but making use of this opportunity well against South Africa will be their top priority. After all, it is not often that they get to play a top-tier team.

Despite not getting the results right in their last few matches, Ireland wouldn’t be too disappointed. They have pushed other sides hard and have had plenty of positives to draw from those games. Their batting has looked solid and able enough to post or chase towering totals. Their bowling, however, would be looking to showcase a bit better performances going forward. If that happens, Ireland will be well and truly in business against the Proteas.

SOUTH AFRICA

Coming off a remarkable series win against England, South Africa couldn’t have been more relieved. They are going through a rebuilding phase and will be particularly happy with the way things have panned out for them in their most recent series. They still have a few matches up their sleeves to fine-tune their combinations before the World Cup and they would want to use those to work out a few combinations.

South Africa has, in particular, looked in terrific form leading up to this series. However, the form of Quinton de Kock could be concerning for the fans and the management alike. Having said that, he has looked good while he’s been in and a big inning is probably around the corner. Rilee Rossouw got a chance to showcase his skills and he certainly added another dimension to this lineup with his engaging and assertive play.

On paper, South Africa looks well equipped with all bases covered in both departments. David Miller arguably has a problem of plenty as far as selecting the final eleven is concerned. We might well see a few more players getting a chance to showcase their skills in this upcoming match, but that is unlikely to impact the team balance much. Considering that and how the Proteas have done in recent times, they would certainly be a threat to deal with.

IRE VS SA PITCH REPORT

Bristol has been a high-scoring venue usually and the same could be expected in the upcoming game as well. The skipper winning the toss will be looking to bowl first as the pitch looks quite flat and any score could be chased down with wickets in the bank.

IRELAND VS SOUTH AFRICA WEATHER FORECAST

Heavy rain is predicted on Wednesday, with the temperature expected to range between 14 and 23 degrees Celsius.

IRELAND VS SOUTH AFRICA PROBABLE XIS

IRELAND

PROBABLE XI

Paul Stirling, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker (wk), George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Graham Hume, Joshua Little

SOUTH AFRICA

PROBABLE XI

Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller (c), Tristan Stubbs, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

PROBABLE BEST BATTER

REEZA HENDRICKS:

Reeza Hendricks had an excellent series against England recently and played an important role in the series victory for the Proteas. The right-hander, who opened the innings, finished with scores of 57, 53, and 70 in the three innings he played for South Africa and deserved his Player of the Series award. The 32-year-old will now be looking to continue his good form to seal his place at the top of the order.

PROBABLE BEST BOWLER

TABRAIZ SHAMSI:

Tabraiz Shamsi picked up a five-wicket haul in the final T20I against England and looked in excellent rhythm throughout the series. The Chinaman is a match winner when it comes to the shorter formats and his wrist spin abilities are going to be tough to take on for the Ireland batters. The 32-year-old will look to get on the wickets column consistently against Ireland.

MATCH PREDICTION

Ireland is struggling a bit of late whereas the Proteas will be brimming with confidence after their series win over England. The Irish side needs to be on their toes to challenge the Proteas.

South Africa has a good balance to its side and is expected to come out on top on Wednesday.

Prediction: South Africa to win this encounter.