New Zealand vs South Africa Cricket World Cup 2023: Fantasy XI Prediction, Top Captaincy Pick

New Zealand enters the upcoming match against South Africa on the heels of a closely-fought five-run loss to Australia. While the Kiwis remain in the race for the knockout stage, a victory against the Proteas would solidify their position. The team, led by Tom Latham, currently holds the third spot in the ICC Cricket World Cup standings with eight points from six matches. On the other hand, South Africa, coming off a thrilling one-run victory over Pakistan, has climbed to the second position with 10 points from six games. A win against New Zealand would propel them to the top of the points table.  (World Cup 2023 points table)

Weather conditions and pitch report

The pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, favours batters. The venue has hosted nine matches out of which the team batting first has won four while five have been clinched by the team batting second. The average first innings score in ODIs across the last 10 matches at the venue is 294.

Talking about the weather, the temperature at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is predicted to be 29 degrees with 39% humidity.

New Zealand vs South Africa predicted playing XI
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, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi.

NZ vs SA Fantasy XI
Wicket-keepers: Quinton de Kock

Batters: Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Daryl Mitchell

All-rounders: James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Marco Jansen

Bowlers: Kagiso Rabada, Gerald