World Cup 2023, Match 15 | South Africa Predicted XI vs Netherlands

image-lnswe3hfSouth Africa will be playing against Netherlands in the 15th match of the World Cup 2023 (Source: AP Photos)

It's been over ten days since the most anticipated 2023 World Cup began. The early period of the tourney saw plenty of runs being scored, numerous records being shattered. And here's one of the teams responsible for all of these, set to lock horns with Netherlands on October 17 at the H.P.C.A Stadium, Dharamsala, slated to begin at 2:00 PM IST.

South Africa has been nothing shy of a powerhouse in the initial period of the World Cup. They smashed the highest total in World Cup history i.e. 428, against Sri Lanka. Aiden Markram went bonkers and whooped the fastest century in World Cup history, overshadowing Ireland's Kevin O'Brien.

The African nation has been dominating at the start with a couple of wins- against Sri Lanka and Australia. Currently, they have four points in the bank and will look to match up with New Zealand and India in the points tally.

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Netherlands on the other hand has been gutsy. They have been a fearless side but failed to close gell as a total unit. They showed valiant efforts against Pakistan and New Zealand but got overshadowed in the end. The Dutch side defeated the Proteas some eleven months back during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and spoiled the party. Colin Ackermann's side will be in quest for some replication.

Both sides have squared up in World Cup history thrice with the Proteas having a 100% win rate. How are they going to line-up in the clash on queue? Let us have a quick look.


Openers: Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock

It will make less sense if South Africa makes any changes in their top-order. Temba Bavuma will be leading the side as usual and was in tremendous form in the lead up to the World Cup 2023. But someone who exceeds Bavuma in terms of batting form has to be Quinton de Kock.

The left-handed batter is playing his last ODI World Cup and kicked off the tournament with a bang. He garnered back-to-back tons against Sri Lanka and Australia. De Kock has been in destructive mode and the gloveman just loves India. His international ODI blossomed in this peninsular land when he smacked three centuries against India in 2013.


Middle Order: Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller

Rassie van der Dussen was out of form and nursing injuries for the most part of 2023 but when it mattered it stepped up. Rassie touched up with a century in the tournament opener of the Proteas against Sri Lanka. He is a special player when it comes to the Fifty Over World Cup; he averaged 63 with the bat ahead of the ongoing World Cup.

Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller form a colossal pair. If they go on song together, it would be a nightmare for any bowler on the planet. The former has awestrucked the cricket fraternity with his three centuries in the last six months. Firstly, he notched up a hundred against RCB in the 2023 India Premier League. It was followed by a ton in Major League cricket and one in national colours.


All-rounders: Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj.

Aiden Markram is perhaps one of the best no.4 batters in the world in current times. He reads the situations of the game very well and has the ability to quickly adapt according to circumstances. Markram was spotted taking the Lankan bowlers to the cleaners recently and struck the fastest century of World Cup history. This was his second ton in the last couple of months as the all-rounder struck a scintillating century against Australia in the recently concluded bilateral series.

Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj will be the primary all-rounders for the Green and Gold. The former has been brilliant with his left-arm seam bowling. His tallness adds a different flavour to the Proteas bowling attack. Jansen has also turned up with the bat lower down the order whenever the need arose. Maharaj follows him in the batting stack and is one of their key spinners in the grand event. The all-rounder will retain his position and may be the primary spinner of the squad for the upcoming clash.


Bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee.

The last match played in the H.P.C.A Stadium was between England and Bangladesh where Reece Topley claimed a four-for and Shoriful Islam bagged a three-fer. Henceforth, South Africa may opt for three genuine pacers alongside Jansen. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi are the mainstays in the bowling community while the think tank may summon Gerald Coetzee in place of Tabraiz Shamsi.


South Africa predicted XI vs Netherlands

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