Zimbabwe clashes with South Africa in the last One Day match of the three match series to be held on Thursday, 21st August.
The host team will look at the match as an opportunity to salvage some pride after having lost the first two matches and the series.
The South Africans will be very pleased with the effort of the squad so far in the series as the players took the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming tri-series involving Zimbabwe and Australia.
Even with a few key players rested, the team has done well to win the two ODIs comfortably.
The visitors won the 2nd ODI by a margin of 61 runs. South Africa scored 257 and then bundled out Zimbabwe for a meager total of 197.
South Africa got off to another good start but the hosts stifled the runs with some tight bowling spells.
Faf du Plessis was the standout performer for South Africa, scoring the only half century for the team.
Quentin de Cock scored 39, a score which made him the joint fastest to get to 1000 ODI runs. David Miller and JP Duminy also contributed with notable contributions with the bat. The four batsmen along with AB de Viliers and Hashim Amla will agin be the key to the team’s batting.
The South African bowlers performed really well, with Ryan McLaren leading the way by picking up 3 wickets for just 21 runs. Wayne Parnell provided good support, picking up 3 wickets for 28 runs. These two players will again be expected to lead the line in the last match.
The Zimbabweans, after having done all the hard work with the ball, lost plot with the bat. Even with a task of facing a second string bowling attack, the hosts bundled up for less than 200. The only notable contribution came from the bat of Sean Williams, who scored 55 runs.
The bowling of the Zimbabwe team improved considerably from the last match and the credit goes to a fine collective effort from all bowlers.
The team will look for a similar bowling effort, with hopes that the batting will improve to make sure that the team gets something from the series.