Spot light: Lungi Ngidi, Match Preview and CREX 11

South Africa will cross swords against Ireland in the first T20I of the two-match series in Bristol tomorrow at 4.30 PM IST.

Despite competing neck-to-neck, Ireland failed to register a single win against New Zealand in the recently concluded T20I series. On the other hand, the Proteas, after handing a 2-1 defeat to England, are high on confidence and will look to continue their victorious T20 run. 

South Africa are firm favourites to win this game, but Ireland have the capacity to give them a run for their money. 

Spot light player: Lungi Ngidi

In the absence of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi will spearhead the Proteas' pace attack. Ngidi was South Africa's best pacer in the recently concluded England series, with seven wickets at an incredible strike rate of 7.43. 

Ngidi picked a fifer in the first England T20I at Bristol

Further, he had an economy of just 6.92 in the series, making things significantly difficult for the power-packed English batting unit. More importantly, his ability to deceive batters with his slow balls grabbed many eyeballs worldwide. South Africa will primarily rely on Ngidi's variations to prevent the Irish batters from posting mammoth totals on Bristol's flat batting deck. 

Match Details: 

Venue: County Ground, Bristol
Live Streaming: Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV app

Pitch Report: Bristol has traditionally behaved as a batters' paradise, as evident from the average scoring rate of 9.04 at this venue. The bounce is expected to be even, and with small boundary dimensions on offer, we might witness another high-scoring affair tomorrow. 

CREX 11

Wicket-keeper: Quinton de Kock
Batters: Reeza Hendricks, Harry Tector, Paul Stirling, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram
All-rounders: Curtis Campher
Bowlers: Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Mark Adair, Tabraiz Shamsi

Captain: Reeza Hendricks
Vice Captain: Lungi Ngidi

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