South Africa vs West Indies, RSA vs WI, Today Match Prediction 28 February 2023

sa vs win Match Prediction & Analysis

South Africa are hosting West Indies for 2 match Test Series, of which the first match will be played on 28th February 2023 at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Both teams are out of the race to qualify for the ICC Test Championship 2023’s final.

South Africa lost 2 back-to-back Test series against England and Australia, respectively. They have not won any game from the last 5 tests played in recent times. West Indies, on another side, won the 2-match series against Zimbabwe. 

Historically Centurion’s pitch has favored fast bowlers, which is why both teams have solidified their pace attack for this series. It will be a huge task for batters to score runs and build a partnership on this pitch in front of fast bowlers. The South African team wants to register a series win before the home crowd.

TEAMS PREVIEW

South Africa Preview

After getting defeated against Australia n the last test series, the South African team is looking forward to claiming a win against West Indies in home conditions. The first test from the West Indies tour of South Africa will start on Tuesday at Centurian.

South Africa’s batters throughout the series failed before the Australian attack. The team lost the first 2 test matches while managing to draw the 3rd one against the Aussies. Kagiso Rabada was a lone warrior in the bowling unit to put pressure on opponents’ batters. He took 11 wickets in the series at an average of 32.00.

South Africa have good records at Centurian. The team’s batting unit looks solid for an upcoming series against West Indies. Captain Dean Elgar scored 445 runs in the last 10 tests, whereas Temba Bavuma scored 479 from the previous 7 games. The team’s bowling unit mainly depends on pacers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje. 

The overall squad looks well-balanced, with good depth in the batting and bowling unit. They just need to execute plans well on the ground in front of the Caribbean side on Tuesday. 

Key players:
Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.

South Africa Predicted Playing XI:

Dean Elgar (c), Sarel Erwee, Heinrich Klaasen, Temba Bavuma, Khaya Zondo, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.

South Africa Actual Playing XI:

Heinrich Klaasen, Anrich Nortje, Tony de Zorzi, Keegan Petersen, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Senuran Muthusamy, Dean Elgar, Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma

West Indies Preview

The Caribbean side is touring South Africa for the Test, ODI, and T20I series, of which the test series will start on 28th February in Centurian. With a win against Zimbabwe in the last series, they are eyeing to surprise the African unit in away conditions.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul has shined in test format in the last series. He scored 258 runs in the last 3 innings and became just the tenth player from the West Indies to convert his maiden Test hundred into a double-ton. He and Captain Kraigg Brathwaite are two prime batters for the team for the upcoming series against South Africa.

Gudakesh Motie is a key bowler for West Indies who single-handedly dismantled Zimbabwe in the last series, taking 19 wickets to become a player of the series. Experienced Kemar Roach, who has taken 23 wickets in the previous 8 matches, must deliver against African batters on Centurian’s track. 

West Indies have a good bowling attack for a tour to South Africa. They will try to continue the winning momentum ahead this series when they face a home team in the first match on Tuesday.

Key players:
Kraigg Brathwaite, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach.

West Indies Predicted Playing XI:

Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Reifer, Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach.

West Indies Actual Playing XI:

Kemar Roach, Jason Holder, Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Alzarri Joseph, Joshua Da Silva, Raymon Reifer, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Shannon Gabriel, Roston Chase, Kraigg Brathwaite

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be cloudy on the match day, with 20-30% rain chances. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be between 26°C - 12°C. Wind speed is expected to be 10 to 15 km/h towards the east. Here the pitch favors facers, and it gets difficult for batters to tackle the pace on this wicket.

Venue Details

SuperSport Park in Centurion will host this match. The ground accommodates 20,000 people and has conducted several international and domestic games.

Toss: To Bat

The ground has conducted 27 tests so far here. In the last 5 test matches, the team which batted first has won 4 times. Here the general trend is the winning captain chooses to bat first as the pitch favors bowlers in the 2nd innings.