Cricket
MCA Stadium Pitch Report: Batters’ paradise expected in NZ vs SA World Cup showdown

MCA Stadium Pitch Report: Batters’ paradise expected in NZ vs SA World Cup showdown

The pitch report of MCA Stadium in Pune suggests that the upcoming World Cup clash between New Zealand and South Africa in Pune is likely to provide excellent conditions for batters.

In the 32nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, New Zealand will take on South Africa at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. New Zealand is currently positioned just below South Africa in the standings. They have played six matches and won in four of them, accumulating a total of eight points. On the contrary, South Africa has been performing exceptionally well, winning five out of six matches and currently holding the second position with ten points. Ahead of the NZ vs SA clash, check the pitch report of the MCA Stadium.

MCA Stadium Pitch Report

The pitch at the MCA Stadium is expected to provide bounce and is likely to remain consistent throughout the match. In the first match of the World Cup played at this venue, India comfortably achieved the target, while Bangladesh struggled to post a competitive score despite a decent start from their openers.

During the second match, a combined effort by the bowlers, particularly left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, who took four wickets, limited Sri Lanka to 241 runs before Afghanistan, powered by three half-centuries, comfortably chased down the target with 28 balls remaining.

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Out of the nine previous ODIs held at this venue, five have seen teams scoring over 300 runs while batting first. Furthermore, in three out of seven innings, even the chasing teams managed to surpass the 300-run mark, indicating the batting-friendly nature of the pitches in Pune. The average first innings score at this stadium stands at 300.

NZ vs SA: Probable Playing XIs

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

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