ENGLAND VS. SOUTH AFRICA: T20 WORLD CUP 2021, MATCH 39 | PREDICTION, PLAYING 11 AND FANTASY CRICKET TIPS
England take on South Africa in Match 39 of the 2021 T20 World Cup at Sharjah on Saturday evening.
England have almost qualified for the semi-finals, having won all their matches so far, and are at the top of the Group 1 standings with 8 points. While they started their campaign with three straight dominant victories over the West Indies, Bangladesh and Australia, the last match against Sri Lanka was more difficult. Batting first, England posted 163 runs on a difficult deck, courtesy of a swashbuckling hundred from Jos Buttler, and won the game by 26 runs.
South Africa, on the other hand, are on a 3-match win streak, thanks to a clinical bowling performance against Bangladesh where they dismissed them for just 84 runs and chased the total down with more than 6 overs remaining. With 6 points from four matches, they are currently placed 3rd in the Group 1 standings. They will need a good margin of victory in this game to qualify for the semi-finals if Australia win in the other game.
Match Details
- Game: England vs. South Africa, Match 39
- Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
- Date & Time: Nov. 6, 2021, at 7:30 PM IST/6 PM Local
Probable Playing XI
England
Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (WK), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Chris Jordan
South Africa
Quinton de Kock (WK), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
Weather Report
The weather in Sharjah is predicted to be hot and humid, with the temperature expected to be around 31 degrees during the match.
Pitch Report
The pitches in Sharjah have been kind to bowlers in 2021. Despite the small boundaries and the fast outfield, batters have majorly struggled to adjust and make big runs. Keeping wickets in hand for the final overs can make a huge difference in the end. Both pacers and spinners have been equally effective here. The average first-innings score in the last seven T20Is played here has been 158 runs.
Toss
The teams batting second have enjoyed more success, winning 4 of the 7 matches played in the tournament so far. A total of around 160 should be a competitive one on this surface.
Top Fantasy Picks
Wicketkeeper
- Jos Buttler scored an unbeaten 101* runs in the last match against Sri Lanka and became the 1st English player to score a century in all formats of the game. He has been in red-hot form in the tournament, with 214 runs in four matches at a brilliant strike rate of 153.95.
Batters
- Jason Roy has been outstanding at the top of the order for England. He is one of the cleanest strikers of the white ball and has significantly improved his strike rate against spin. Roy has scored 103 runs at a strike rate of 139.18 and was terrific against Bangladesh, where he scored 61 runs off 38 balls.
- Rassie van der Dussen has been relatively quiet in the tournament since his brilliant century in the practice match against Pakistan. He has scored 83 runs with a high score of 43 against the West Indies. He is an experienced player who knows how to build the innings and can be destructive in the final overs too.
All-rounder
- Aiden Markram is having a terrific year as far as his T20 game is concerned. He is the leading run scorer for South Africa in this tournament, with 110 runs at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 134.14, including 1 half century. Moreover, he can also be handy with his part-time off-spin bowling.
Bowlers
- Chris Jordan is England's leading T20I wicket taker and a specialist death bowler. He has picked up 6 wickets in four matches at an average of 10.5 and an economy rate of only 5.25 during this World Cup. His importance at the backend of an innings will be more significant with the absence of the injured Tymal Mills.
- Anrich Nortje has been South Africa's most successful bowler in the tournament, with 8 wickets at an average of 8.75, which is only bettered by four other bowlers. Having bowled with great pace, aggression and accuracy so far, he now has the opportunity to make a big statement against a strong English batting unit.
Howzat Dream Team
- Wicketkeepers: J Buttler, J Bairstow
- Batters: J Roy, T Bavuma, R Van der Dussen
- All-rounders: C Woakes, A Markram
- Bowlers: C Jordan, A Rashid, T Shamsi, A Nortje
- Captain: C Jordan/J Buttler
- Vice Captain: A Markram/A Nortje
NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own fantasy 11, and play all the fantasy cricket matches from the T20 World Cup. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team suggested.
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