Preview:
New Zealand will host South Africa in the 2-match Test series which will get underway from Thursday. It will be a new challenge for the Kiwis as they are playing without Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor and that will open up the spot for an extra all-rounder. They had drawn the previous Test series against Bangladesh 1-1 last month. Trent Boult is on Paternity leave and Matt Henry will replace him in the squad.
South Africa on the other hand had a great home Test series against mighty Indians where they won by 2-1. Keegan Peterson who played a vital role will miss the New Zealand tour. Sarel Erwee and Zubayr Hamza are in the line to replace him at the No.3 spot. They have an excellent record against New Zealand in the longest format where they have won 13 series. Not many players have played earlier in New Zealand, and it will be a testing time for them.
Match Details:
New Zealand vs South Africa, 1st Test
Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Date & Time: February 17th-21st, at 3:30 AM IST and 11:00 AM Local Time
Live Streaming: Amazon Prime Video
Pitch Report:
We can expect a green top wicket for this match and seamers will definitely cause problems. The batters just need to play long as possible. There are chances of rain on the 3rd and 4th day of the Test.
Probable Playing XIs for NZ vs SA:
New Zealand
Tom Latham (c), Will Young, Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Darly Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra / Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Matt Henry
South Africa
Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Sarel Erwee / Zubayr Hamza, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi
Top Picks for NZ vs SA Dream11 Match:
Top Picks – Batters
Tom Latham will continue to lead New Zealand in the absence of injured Kane Williamson. He did a great job in the previous Test series against Bangladesh where he scored 267 runs with the highest score of 252.
Test specialist Dean Elgar will be eager to make an impact right from the start. He is a strong competitor and has the huge ability to play long innings. He has scored 4582 runs in 72 matches at an average of 39.84.
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Top Picks – All-Rounders
Darly Mitchell will find his place in the final eleven and is likely to bat at No.6. In his 7 Test matches, he has scored 303 runs at an average of 43.28 and picked up 2 wickets as well.
Marco Jansen was highly impressive in his debut Test series against India. In 3 matches, he has scalped 19 wickets with the best of figures of 4 for 31 in an innings and scored 60 runs with the bat.
Top Picks – Bowlers
Kyle Jamieson will be the key bowler for New Zealand. He had a good Test series against Bangladesh where he chipped in with 8 wickets. Not to forget he can add valuable runs down the order as well.
Kagiso Rabada is well known for his sheer pace and will lead the South African bowling attack. He has picked up 233 wickets in 50 Test matches and scored 733 runs with the bat.
Top Picks – Wicketkeepers
Tom Blundell is your first choice wicketkeeping option. In his 15 Test matches, he has scored 663 runs at an average of 31.57 which includes 2 centuries and 3 half-centuries.
NZ vs SA Must Picks for Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:
| Player | Career Test Stats |
| Tom Latham | 4486 runs |
| Devon Conway | 623 runs |
| Kyle Jamieson | 60 wickets and 311 runs |
| Dean Elgar | 4582 runs and 15 wickets |
| Kagiso Rabada | 233 wickets and 733 runs |
Suggested Playing XI No.1 for NZ vs SA Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:
Tom Blundell, Dean Elgar, Tom Latham, Rassie van der Dussen (vc), Devon Conway (c), Aiden Markram, Darly Mitchell, Marco Jansen, Kyle Jamieson, Kagiso Rabada, Neil Wagner
Suggested Playing XI No.2 for NZ vs SA Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:
Tom Blundell, Dean Elgar (vc), Tom Latham (c), Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Devon Conway, Will Young, Marco Jansen, Neil Wagner, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi
NZ vs SA Risky Captaincy Choices:
Will Young has accumulated 428 runs in his 7 Test matches at an average of 38.9. He is a risky captaincy pick for your fantasy teams.
Duanne Olivier in his comeback to Test cricket did well against India where he managed to pick 5 wickets in 2 matches with the best figures of 3 for 64.
Player you should avoid:
Keshav Maharaj picked up only one wicket in his last 3 Test matches, the surface here at Hagley Oval doesn’t offer much assistance for the spinners and hence it’s better to avoid him while making your fantasy teams.
