Cricket World Cup Betting Tips: New Zealand vs South Africa
South Africa kept up their impressive form at the World Cup by holding their composure against Pakistan last time out.
Temba Bavuma’s men faced a nervy chase of 271 and lost wickets at regular intervals outside of a brilliant 91 from Aidan Markram.
The Proteas are slowly edging towards a place in the knockout phase, and another win would put them within touching distance.
South Africa have slipped up in the past and cannot afford to be too comfortable despite their win over Pakistan, but they’re playing excellent cricket at the moment.
We could be primed for another fascinating contest and after nailing eight of our last nine selections, here are our predictions after looking at the Cricket World Cup odds.
Ravindra to shine again?
Although the Black Caps have been without Kane Williamson due to injury, a star has emerged in his place at number three.
Rachin Ravindra has flourished in place of the New Zealand skipper and has made himself one of the first names on the team sheet after scoring a brilliant century against Australia.
The 23-year-old kept his team in the game in their chase of 388, taking down the impressive Aussie attack with a range of hitting. He notched 116 from only 89 deliveries, including nine fours and five sixes.
It was his second century of the World Cup after previously scoring a ton against England in the opening match of the tournament. Ravindra has not only played well, but he has come to the fore against quality opponents, also scoring 75 in his side’s defeat to India.
If Williamson comes back into the side, Ravindra may be pushed up the order to join Devon Conway as an opener. We’re backing him to produce for New Zealand against another fine bowling unit at odds of 11/5 with Betway to score 50 runs or more.
More sixes from Klaasen?
No player has epitomised South Africa’s destructive batting more than Heinrich Klaasen. Klaasen endured a rare failure at the World Cup, scoring only 12 in his side’s narrow win over Pakistan.
His contributions against England and Bangladesh put the Proteas in unassailable positions in the game, and his style of batting may be required again to put the additional 40 to 50 runs on the board to take the game away from New Zealand.
There is no secret to Klaasen’s style, he will always take on opposing bowlers and put them under pressure.
The 32-year-old is one of the cleanest strikers of a ball in the sport and given the way the Black Caps’ bowlers performed against Australia, there could be scope for more maximums.
We’re going to back him to score the most sixes in the match at 9/2 with bet365, although there is also an 11/4 price to notch the most maximums for the Proteas.
New ball duel
The contest could well be decided by which team fares better against the new ball. New Zealand had a poor day against Australia as Matt Henry and Trent Boult both received punishment from David Warner and Travis Head at the top of the order.
It allowed the Aussies to build momentum in their innings before they teed off again in the closing overs.
Henry had a day to forget as he went for over 10 runs per over, while Boult did not do a great deal better, although he claimed three wickets.
Lockie Ferguson could miss the game due to injury, placing even more pressure on Henry and Boult to perform.
In contrast, South Africa's Marco Jansen continues to excel in the opening overs.
The left-arm quick claimed two wickets against Pakistan in his first spell and returned to bag another to take his tally to 13 for the tournament. He has a great chance to finish the World Cup as the leading wicket taker and is available with bookmakers at 7/1.
We’re backing him to continue his excellent form and edge his duel with Henry to get more wickets than his counterpart at 4/5 with Unibet.
Simon Sinclair is an experienced sports journalist, who has written for national publications for football, cricket, NFL and many more. He contributes tips on a wide range of sports for The Independent.
