Ireland vs South Africa: 3rd T20I Betting Tips & Predictions

Ireland Team News

Ireland found themselves batting second again after losing the toss in the second match.

They were fairly decent with the ball this time around – restricting South Africa to 159-7 (from 165 in the first game). Paul Stirling got the early wickets of Temba Bavuma and Janneman Malan with Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen also departing in single digits later on.

David Miller’s heroics in the middle order is what allowed the Proteans to post a strong total in Dublin and as it turns out, it was enough to get the job done.

Ireland’s batting woes continued as the openers struggled against the heavily experienced and in-form Protean bowlers. They pretty much dismantled the Irish batting in the first half of the innings, reducing them to 46-5 in 7.5 overs and squashing any hopes of reaching the target.

Kevin O’Brien, Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector went in single digits while Shane Getkate was the team’s highest scorer with 24 runs. The match ended with 117 all out in 19.3 overs.

South Africa Team News

With a series win in West Indies and now in Ireland, South Africa will surely be pleased with the way their preparations for the T20 World Cup are going on.

However, there are still some flaws to be addressed, the most notable being the misfiring of South African’s opening order batsmen. And this isn’t something new – they have been plagued with issues in the opening in their last few tournaments too.

In the last two T20 matches in Dublin, Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, and Janneman Malan have gotten out without playing a substantial inning.

The runs have come from the middle order and while that may have been enough against a team like Ireland, it will not make the cut against the big giants they’ll face in the World Cup.

Miller’s 75 off 44 (four 4s, five 6s) propelled the visitors to a good total on Thursday but had he fallen like the others too, Ireland would have very well won the match.

There are no complaints with the ball, of course. Bjorn Fortuin, making his series debut, took three wickets with Tabraiz Shamsi getting another three. Lungi Ngidi and Beuran Hendricks saw to the rest of the players.