After a lot of ruckus and noise - you all saw the under-19 World Cup finals and the persistent swearing from Bangladesh players - in the last week, we have a rather quiet week for cricket fans coming up with just four teams in action and only one series alive and kicking.
England and South Africa with all to play for
T20Is are the flavour of the season and after a 1-3 loss in the Tests and levelling the ODI series, South Africa prepare for another World Cup (or another World Cup heartbreak) as they take on England in a three-match T20I series starting on 12th. England, fresh off an ODI World Cup win, will have equally big plans for the T20 World Cup in Australia. They have shown their batting capabilities and bowling vulnerabilities already and will look to sharpen up in this series.
Watch out for:
Quinton de Kock:
The man for all seasons is now South Africa's limited-overs captain and if the ODI series is anything to go by, de Kock will be a thorn in England's flesh in the T20Is too. A Man of the Series award in the ODIs will pump de Kock up for the T20Is in a year where he might well have to lead the side to a World Cup if Faf du Plessis continues to remain on the sidelines. De Kock's a bankable player for this series with him clocking 187 runs at 62.33 in the ODIs.
A reverse whitewash?
After whitewashing New Zealand in the T20Is, India are on the verge of being reverse whitewashed with the ODI series at 2-0 in favour of the Kiwis. India just can't seem to find a way to go past the Black Caps in this format with them losing their last three matches against the hosts. The most significant of them - the 2019 World Cup semi-finals - will continue to hurt and a win in the dead rubber is the least they can do to hasten the wound-healing process.
Watch out for:
Ross Taylor
The New Zealand middle-order batsman was in sensational form in the ODIs and took New Zealand to a match-winning total in the second ODI from a point they seemed down and out. Taylor has the most runs against India from the no. 4 position since 2016 and will be keen to add some more crucial runs in the final ODI.
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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Rodger Bosch
