Proteas go 1-0-up after opening Ireland T20 victory

Fresh off their three-match ODI series, South Africa and Ireland will do battle in three T20Is in Dublin, starting on Monday, 19 July.

Ireland won the toss and elected to bowl.

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The ODI series finished in a 1-1 tie after the first match was washed out. Ireland won the second clash by 43 runs with the Proteas bouncing back to claim a 70-run victory in the third and deciding match.

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The second and third T20s will take place on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, this week.

Players to watch

Irish all-rounder Simi Singh will still be on cloud nine after his maiden ODI century last week. However, it is with the ball where he did some of his best work in 2020, recording Ireland’s best bowling figures in three of their six most recent T20Is.

South African leg spinner Tabraiz Shamsi reasserted his authority as the ICC’s #1 ranked T20I bowler with his team’s best bowling figures in three of their five recent T20Is against the West Indies, whilst also recording the best ever economy rate (4.00) of any man to have bowled at least 20 overs in a single T20I competition.

Stat attack

The average first innings score in Malahide T20Is is 160, or 198 for teams who bat first and win.

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TEAMS:

Ireland

Andy Balbirnie (captain), Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Lorcan Tucker (wkt), Shane Getkate, Simi Singh, Barry McCarthy, Josh Little, Mark Adair

South Africa

Quinton de Kock (wkt), Temba Bavuma (captain), Janneman Malan, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Lizaad Williams, Lung Ngidi Tabraiz Shamsi