South Africa vs Australia 1st T20 Match Prediction
South Africa and Australia start their white ball series with the first of three T20 internationals, with the series opening at The Wanderers, Johannesburg. The first game of the series takes place on February 21 and the live action starts at 18:00 local time.
South Africa are looking to bounce back from their T20 international series defeat to England, where they won the first match but lost two in a row despite posting more than 200 in each of those losses. Lungi Ngidi took eight wickets in that series, but they could not prevent England sealing series success.
Australia’s recent T20 international form has been excellent, however. They won series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the end of last year, enjoying some dominant form in those matches. Their players have since showed their best form in the Big Bash League too.
Live streaming SA vs AUS 1st T20
TV channels: Fox Sports, SuperSport, SABC, Sony Six, Willow TV, Sky Sports Cricket
Live streaming: SuperSport, SonyLiv
Toss Prediction
South Africa won the toss in each of their last two matches, so law of averages says they will lose this one – Australia could choose to bat first at The Wanderers.
Weather Report
Scattered thunderstorms are forecast in the evening, with a 36 per cent chance of rain when the game is due to start – a figure which only goes up as the night goes on.
Pitch Condition
The Wanderers is an excellent batting wicket, with both these teams enjoying some famous high-scoring matches at this ground.
Read on for team previews, betting tips, latest odds and match prediction for South Africa vs Australia, 1st T20 2020.
South Africa Team News & Playing 11
SA Team News
Quinton de Kock continues to lead South Africa, despite Faf du Plessis returning to the South Africa squad. Kagiso Rabada is also back in the squad. Heinrich Klaasen top-scored after coming into the team for the final T20 international and could retain his place for this one, particularly with Temba Bavuma absent with a hamstring strain.
SA Key Players
Quinton de Kock: Leading the team now, the wicket-keeper-batsman scored 131 in the series against England, including a 17-ball half-century in the second match.
Lungi Ngidi: Took eight wickets in the series against England, including three wickets in each of the first two matches.
Faf du Plessis: Stepped down as South Africa captain but still a key batsman in all formats, he has scored 5,214 runs in his 200 T20 innings with a strike rate of 127.20.
SA Team Form
After a drawn series with India, South Africa lost their most recent series to England despite winning the opening game by just one run – Lungi Ngidi turning the game on its head with some excellent death bowling as South Africa defended 177/8.
In the following game, they were set 205 to win and Quinton de Kock hit 65 in pursuit but they fell short on 202/7. The final game was less dramatic, however – Heinrich Klaasen top-scored with 66 in a total of 222/6 but the tourists chased it down for the loss of just five wickets.
South Africa Predicted Playing 11
Quinton de Kock (c,wk), Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, JJ Smuts, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
Australia Team News & Playing 11
AUS Team News
Glenn Maxwell will not make his return to Australia’s white-ball squad after being ruled out of the tour with an elbow injury. Once again, D’Arcy Short has been called back up as a result. Mitchell Marsh is also back in Australia colours, but Marcus Stoinis’ superb Big Bash League form has not earned a recall. Matthew Wade is back in the squad, however.
AUS Key Players
Steve Smith: Back in South Africa, where he was when the ball-tampering scandal broke, he arrives on the back of helping Sydney Sixers to victory in the Big Bash League.
David Warner: Scored yet another century during the ODI series with India, he is also set for a hostile reception back in South Africa but his recent form is outstanding.
Aaron Finch: Scored 109 and 63* in his last two T20 innings during the Big Bash League, continuing his own excellent form at the top of the order.
AUS Team Form
Australia come into this series in fine T20i form, having enjoyed comfortable series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Only a no result against the latter halted their winning momentum, and even then they were only just short of victory when the rain came.
Most recently, Kane Richardson took 3-18 and Sean Abbott 2-14 as they restricted Pakistan to just 106/8, and David Warner and Aaron Finch needed just 11.5 overs to wrap up a ten-wicket win.
Australia Predicted Playing 11
David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa
South Africa vs Australia Head to Head
South Africa have won seven of their 18 previous matches against Australia in T20 international cricket. They did win their most recent meeting in November 2018, however – a one-off match in Australia which was reduced to ten overs. South Africa posted 108/6 and Australia could only reach 87/7 in reply.
SA vs AUS Head to Head Stats
| Matches Played |
SA Won |
AUS Won |
Tie |
No Result |
| 18 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
South Africa vs Australia Betting Odds
Australia are favourites to win the opening game of this series.
SA Bet365 Odds
- SA to Win the Match: South Africa are 2.37 outsiders to win with Bet365.
- SA Top Batsman: Quinton de Kock was in excellent form against England and he is 3.00 favourite to be South Africa’s top team batsman. Faf du Plessis is 4.50 with Bet365 on his return to the team, while Rassie van der Dussen is 5.00 and Heinrich Klaasen can be backed at 7.50.
- SA Top Bowler: Lungi Ngidi is 3.50 favourite to be South Africa’s top team bowler, as is Kagiso Rabada with the latter back in the squad. Dale Steyn is 4.33 with Bet365, while Tabraiz Shamsi is 4.50.
AUS Bet365 Odds
- AUS to Win the Match: Australia are 1.57 favourites to win with Bet365.
- AUS Top Batsman: Aaron Finch and David Warner are top of the order for Australia and both are 3.50 with Bet365 to be their top team batsman. Steve Smith is 4.50, while Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short are both 5.50 with Bet365.
- AUS Top Bowler: Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are both 4.00 to be Australia’s top team bowler with Bet365, while Adam Zampa is 4.33. Kane Richardson is 4.50, while Ashton Agar can be backed at 5.00.
SA Betway Odds
- SA to Win the Match: South Africa are 2.25 outsiders to win with Betway.
- SA Top Batsman: Quinton de Kock is 3.00 favourite with Betway to be South Africa’s top batsman, while Faf du Plessis can be backed at 3.75. Rassie van der Dussen is 4.00 and Heinrich Klaasen is 6.50 since he top-scored last time out.
- SA Top Bowler: Kagiso Rabada is 3.75 favourite with Betway to be South Africa’s top team bowler. Lungi Ngidi is 4.00, while Dale Steyn can be backed at 4.50. Tabraiz Shamsi is 5.00, meanwhile.
AUS Betway Odds
- AUS to Win the Match: Australia are 1.57 favourites to win with Betway.
- AUS Top Batsman: David Warner is 3.50 favourite with Betway to be Australia’s top team batsman, while Aaron Finch is 3.75. Steve Smith can be backed at 4.00, while Matthew Wade is 5.50. Alex Carey is 10.00, meanwhile.
- AUS Top Bowler: Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are both 3.75 to be Australia’s top team bowler with Betway, while Adam Zampa is 4.50. Kane Richardson is 5.00 and Sean Abbott is 6.00.
🏆 South Africa vs Australia Prediction
Australia are in excellent T20 form, while South Africa lost last time out. The tourists can get off to a winning start.
Feb 21, 2020
21:30 IST / 16:00 GMT
Wanderers Stadium - Johannesburg, South Africa
SA vs AUS T20 
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