Australia versus South Africa Champions Trophy: Pitch Report & Weather Report of Rawalpindi
Cricket heavyweights Australia and South Africa are set to take on each other in the crucial Group-B clash of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy on Tuesday, 25th of February at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. The Proteas are currently the Group-B table toppers with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +2.140 to their name after securing a comfortable win over Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan by a margin of 107 runs at Karachi's National Stadium.
Opening batter Ryan Rickelton's phenomenal inning of 103 runs laid the foundation for South Africa's spectacular total and fifties from the likes of Rassie Van der Dussen, captain Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram propelled their side to 315 for six. Experienced seamer Kagiso Rabada led the bowling attack of the Proteas from the front, dismissing three Afghani batters, while the duo of Wiaan Mulder & Lungisiani Ngidi also picked up two scalps apiece as Afghanistan got all-out for 208 runs in 43.3 overs.
The Australians, on the other hand, made history in their opening match of the competition versus Ashes-Rivals England. Not only did they went on to defeat them by a margin of five wickets at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, they also created the record of executing the highest successful run-chase in the history of the eight-team ICC event. Despite the struggles faces by their bowling unit as the Three Lions went on to post 351 runs for eight on the board, the Kangaroos responded in magnificent fashion.
Wicketkeeper batsman Josh Inglis played an incredible knock of 120 runs in just 86 deliveries with the assistance of eight fours and six big maximums, guiding his side to a record breaking victory with 15 deliveries to spare. With both teams looking to secure their semi finals spots, a win in the forthcoming match would bring both of them closer to booking their semifinal berths.
Ahead of this mouth watering clash between the two heavyweights, let's take a quick sneak peak at the Pitch Report & Weather Report of Rawalpindi.
Australia versus South Africa Champions Trophy: Pitch Report of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
The pitch of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium generally offers excellent batting conditions where the batters are given the freedom to play their shots at will and exploit the conditions on offer. The seam bowlers will not get any kind of seam movement on this track. Unlike the surface of Lahore, where the fast bowlers get resilient bounce, the pace & bounce in Rawalpindi are anticipated to be similar, which will help the batters in terms of stroke play.
The spinners, on the other hand, might be able to extract some turn from the pitch of this stadium but the pitch is unlikely to slow down as the game progresses. Since chasing down targets has become the norm in recent times, the toss winning captain may choose to field first
Australia versus South Africa Champions Trophy: Weather Forecast of Rawalpindi
The weather in the city of Rawalpindi is anticipated to be cloudy and cool on Tuesday, 25th of February. There's a 62% chance of rainfall on the match day and the humidity levels are anticipated to be around 74%. The temperatures are expected to hover between 11 degrees Celsius to 18 degrees Celsius.
Australia versus South Africa Champions Trophy: Probable playing 11's of both teams
Australia: Travis Head, Matthew Short, Marnus Labuschsgne, Steven Smith (Captain), Alex Carey, Josh Inglis (WK), Ben Dwarshuis, Glenn Maxwell, Spencer Johnson, Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa.
South Africa: Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (Captain), Ryan Rickelton (WK), Aiden Markram, Rassie Van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, David Miller, Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Lungisiani Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada.
