5 things to look forward to in the SA-NZ ODI series

The second leg of New Zealand's tour of Africa has already commenced, with the Black Caps playing two T20Is against hosts South Africa. Both teams ended up being equally poised, winning one game each.Given the epic Semi-Final clash in the ODI World Cup 2015 held down under between SA and NZ, the excitement and thrill of watching both teams have a face-off again, has mounted steeply among the fans.While on one side, the proteas will be looking to display their dominance on home turf, the Kiwis would be looking to continue their winning momentum after the series versus Zimbabwe. While all fans are eagerly waiting for the ODIs to commence between the teams, the T20Is have given a nice little preview of the probable highlights that the series could feature. Here's a look at 5 such things that will capture the interest of viewers during this series:

#5 Stronger SA pace attack - Rabada in fine form

Will Rabada get a game?

Words are not enough to express the might of the SA pace battery, which includes big names such as Morne Morkel and the much-feared Dale Steyn. But the two T20Is played against NZ have further enriched the SA side, who have discovered a formidable pace bowler in Kagiso Rabada.

For his part, Rabada played extremely well and was successful in adding to his name 5 NZ scalps. With good accuracy and speed, he would be the perfect backup for SA in the pace department. Given his successful outing against NZ in the T20Is and against Bangladesh previously, a slot might also be created to fit him in. Needless to say, it is a good platform for the 20-year-old to gain exposure and prove his mettle.

#4 Young and Inexperienced NZ middle Order

Worker has had a great start to his international career

In stark contrast to the SA line-up, NZ’s tour of Africa has seen the inclusion of several new faces in the squad. Given that the NZ coach’s main motive was to rest frontline players and develop a solid team with young blood, NZ players have wonderfully responded by stepping up at the right times.

Despite captaining a relatively inexperienced side, Kane did remarkably well in the series against Zimbabwe, by marshalling his troops the right way and emerging victorious. While it can be said that the present Zimbabwe team is not a world-class force to reckon with, the real challenge for this young NZ squad would be the ODI series against SA.

With several frontline players including the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and AB de making a return to the squad, it will indeed be an uphill task for the NZ team to go one better against the team that is hungry to avenge the World Cup Semi-Final loss.

#3 SA middle order - Absence of Faf n JPD

Another chance to impress for Behardien

SA have had some big names missing from their squad since the start of the series against NZ. First were Morne Morkel and JP Duminy, who are on paternity leave. Then came SA’s injury concerns, as Faf du Plessis had to sit out during the T20Is due to a knee injury.

There is high probability of him missing the complete ODI series against NZ. Given this scenario, SA’s batting order has had several open spots up for grabs. While Behardien will be given a slot in the playing XI in place of Faf, SA will be undergoing almost a complete revamp of their batting order, since Farhan is a middle order batsman.

His inclusion would promote Rilee Rossouw and David Miller’s batting positions. This revamped SA side is in no dearth of aggressive talent, as most batsmen are hard-hitters of the ball. It remains to be seen how this new look middle order shapes up and stabilizes itself without putting forth outright aggression. All said and done, this is a perfect platform for some of these batsmen to book permanent slots in the ODI team.

#2 Kane Williamson - Records within reach

Kane Williamson’s dream run could well continue

Kane Williamson, whose naturally consistent performance, has suffered no dent with the addition of captaincy, has had a successful tour of Zimbabwe. Captaining New Zealand in the tour of Africa, Kane already increased his tally of half-centuries by 2, in the 2 ODIs that he batted against Zimbabwe.

Although plagued by the Nervous 90s syndrome (he has been dismissed in the 90s in 4 out of his last 6 ODI innings), Kane is yet to face any difficulty in piling up 50s. He has hit a 50 in all his last 6 innings in ODIs. This streak of 6 half-centuries is second only to Javed Miandad’s streak of 9.

With the start of the ODI series against SA, all eyes will be on Kane to see if he continues this momentum. The conclusion of the series might also see Kane equal Miandad’s record streak.

Facing Kane is another record streak, which is currently held by the legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has to his name, the record for the most number of 90s (6) in a calendar year. Following his steps is Kane Williamson, who already has five 90s to his tally this year. This all-important ODI series against SA might as well see Kane equal both streaks, or even set a new record.

#1 AB de Villiers

Fans would obviously sit down and watch the series for this man

The return of AB de Villiers to the South African squad has led to fans giving him a raucous welcome. Regarded as South Africa’s prime player and one of the best players the world has ever seen, his absence was deeply felt in SA’s tour of Bangladesh, where SA suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat in the ODI series.

Returning after his paternity break, AB de is clearly one of the most important people to watch out for in the ODI series against NZ. Glimpses of his magnificence could be seen in the two T20Is that were played between the teams, where he scored some quickfire runs to accelerate his team’s score.

Also, the inclusion of Morne van Wyk in place of Quinton de Kock means that van Wyk would be given a chance to don the gloves, as he did during the T20I matches. It remains to be seen if van Wyk would be kept out of the playing XI in the ODI series, in which case, the burden of guarding the stumps would go to AB de.

Although there is no doubt that AB de would be at his exceptional best, it still would be a better decision to let van Wyk don the gloves so that AB de is not over-worked, which might lead to untimely injuries.