England trounced South Africa by 118 runs in the second ODI in a rain-curtailed affair in Manchester and drew level in the three-match series. The series finale between the two sides will be staged at Headingley in Leeds on Sunday, 24th of July.


English batters stayed true to their tactics of being aggressive from the get-go in white ball cricket and were staring down the barrel after losing their top five batters on the score of 72 after the match was reduced to 29 overs per side. And they were bowled out for 201 after some adept batting by the lower-order batters.

At the halfway mark, the visitors must have been proud of their bowling effort and would have been confident of chasing the total to clinch the series. But the English bowlers took just 23 deliveries to wreck that dream as South Africa lost their top order for just six runs and the match was a mere formality as the Proteas succumbed to an embarrassingly low total of 83 runs.


The final ODI will be an enthralling encounter as England seem to have found their mojo back. They will be eyeing their first series victory under Jos Buttler‘s leadership.

Here are all the stats & approaching milestones you need to know ahead of the final game of the series.

Pitch and conditions
The surface at Headingley offers variable bounce and assists the seam bowlers to great extent in overcast conditions. The team winning the toss on the previous two occasions have opted to bowl, a trend which might not continue as chasing a decent target on this pitch can be a tad tricky.

Playing Combinations for ENG vs SA
England

The hosts were rescued in the second ODI by their all-rounders, who came up with handy scores with the bat to take England to a respectable total. The English camp is sticking with their all-out attack approach at the top of the order, which hasn’t been fruitful so far under Jos Buttler’s stint.

Predicted XI: Jason Roy, Jon.