The last time South Africa and New Zealand met in an ODI was during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and it produced a thrilling encounter, which saw the Black Caps defeat the Proteas.
South Africa might not have forgotten that painful loss, which eluded them from reaching the world cup final, and hence they will be keen for revenge as they take on New Zealand in the three match ODI series starting Wednesday.
The first match of the ODI series will be played at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Despite a number of quality players missing from their respective squads, South Africa and New Zealand have always played an entertaining brand of cricket and one can expect a similar style of cricket this time around as well.
New Zealand might be a confident unit after they came back from 1-0 down to clinch the ODI series 2-1 against Zimbabwe earlier in the month. Kane Williamson was one of their star performers, but other players such as Martin Guptill, and Grant Elliot also need to play some quality cricket if they are to win two ODI series in succession.
These batsmen will not be given any easy runs to score by the South African bowlers, who will be led by Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada.
But New Zealand also have quality bowlers in the form of Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan in their line up. The Black Caps have a strong squad to challenge the Protreas, who are one of the strongest sides when it comes to performing at home.
But the New Zealand bowlers will have their work out against the South African batsmen such as David Miller, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla among others. If these batsmen get their act going, no bowler in world cricket can stop the run flow, especially from de Villiers' bat.
However, South Africa might be more determined than ever to do well after their series loss against Bangladesh last month.
But the Proteas are going to be a strong unit with AB de Villiers back into their squad after missing the ODI series against Bangladesh. AB de Villiers, who is one the best batsmen of the modern era, instills fear in the opponent.
Where to Watch Live
South Africa vs New Zealand 1st ODI has been scheduled for 12:30 local time (4pm IST, 11:30am BST, 6:30am ET) with live TV coverage in India on Ten Cricket and live streaming option on tensports.com.
Viewers in South Africa can watch the complete action on Supersport.
US viewers have the luxury of watching the South Africa vs New Zealand 1st ODI live on Willow TV with live streaming option on Willow TV Online.
