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Auckland: South Africa look to regain No. 1 spot while Kiwis aim for 9th consecutive home series win ahead of Chapmpions Trophy.
South Africa won the series opener and third game by a huge margin. New Zealand earned an enthralling win in the second ODI and fourth ODI after Guptill returning, that too in some style, New Zealand levelled the five-match series with ease.
The action now moves to Eden Park, Auckland, where AB de Villiers and Kane Williamson’s sides will battle hard to win the series.
South Africa will be eager to gain back the No. 1 tag in ODIs after slipping to the second spot, following a crushing loss in fourth game.
On the other hand, New Zealand have had a memorable run at home. They have won 8 consecutive ODI series in their den, and will be in no mood to let that come to a halt.
Apart from this, ICC Champions Trophy is round the corner. Neither team has won a major ICC trophy in recent past. Both sides will like to have one by the end of the much awaited mega event. For that, momentum is key and they will like to have it on their side.
Imran Tahir, currently top-ranked in both ODIs and T20Is, has 4 wickets to his name. He cannot be ruled out in a crunch game like this, and will love to contribute and sprint close to South Africa with his childlike celebrations.
Teams from
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Luke Ronchi (wk), Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi
South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
Pitch and conditions
Eden Park has been a happy hunting ground for pacers.
Stats and trivia
Match facts
Saturday March 4, 2017 (d/n)
Start time 1400 local (0100 GMT)
