England vs South Africa: How to pick the winning Dream11?
What's the story
The ICC World Cup 2019 is set to start on Thursday with the hosts and the number one side, England taking on Faf du Plessis-led South Africa. The match will be decided by the battle between the English batsmen and the Proteas bowlers at the Oval. Fans playing the Dream11 will look to pick a winning combination. Here we decode the same.
Batting
The world-class batting unit consists of Roy, Amla and Buttler
Jason Roy will look to lead the charge with the bat. The opener's aggression could aid England. South Africa's Hashim Amla gets to open the batting alongside Roy in this fantasy side. In-form Faf comes in next. He gets the nod as the vice-captain. Morgan'>Eoin Morgan and the dangerous Jos Buttler constitute the middle order. Morgan is the captain of this XI.
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Phehlukwayo and Moeen are the two all-rounders
Andile Phehlukwayo has been an able all-rounder for South Africa since a while now. He will look to dictate the show with his bowling. We can also witness his cameo with the bat. England's Moeen Ali joins him. He lends the voice with his bowling.
Bowling
Rabada to lead the charge
Jofra Archer has fit into the English side perfectly. He looks set to make his mark in the opener. Archer will look to be among the wickets and will share the new ball with Kagiso Rabada. The Proteas man is his side's best bet to unsettle the Englishmen. We have gone ahead with two spinners in the form of Adil Rashid and Imran Tahir.
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Rationale behind the Dream11 team
We have gone in with experienced batsmen who have class as well as aggression. The two all-rounders are go to players for each side. Their contributions will dictate the show. Both leg-spinners have been doing well and the pacers are genuine wicket-takers.
Predictions
Predicted starting XI and possible winners
Predicted England playing XI: Roy, Bairstow, Root, Morgan (captain), Buttler (wicket-keeper), Moeen, Stokes, Archer, Rashid, Wood and Plunkett. Predicted SA playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wicket-keeper), Amla, Faf (captain), Miller, Dussen, Duminy, Phehlukwayo, Pretorius, Rabada, Tahir and Ngidi. It is expected to be a close match, but given the form England are in, we feel that the hosts could win this opener.