Toss South Africa chose to bat vs Ireland
For the second game in a row, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat against Ireland in Abu Dhabi as they look to take a 2-0 lead and seal the three-match series.
South Africa opener Tony de Zorzi, who went off the field after hurting his knee while sliding to make a stop in the deep in the first ODI, has been rested for today’s game. He underwent an MRI scan on Thursday, which revealed a soft tissue injury in his right knee, and has been left out as a precautionary measure.
Kyle Verreynne slots in for him, with Bavuma moving up to open alongside Ryan Rickelton, who scored a crucial 91 in the last game.
Nandre Burger, who did not play the series opener, has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour, as well as South Africa’s upcoming two-match Test tour of Bangladesh “due to a lumbar stress reaction”.
Ireland named an unchanged XI from the side that went down by 139 runs in the first ODI.
South Africa: 1 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Kyle Verreynne, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Wiaan Mulder, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Bjorn Fortuin, 9 Lizaad Williams, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Ottneil Baartman
Ireland: 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andy Balbirnie, 3 Curtis Campher, 4 Harry Tector, 5 Stephen Doheny (wk), 6 George Dockrell, 7 Mark Adair, 8 Andy McBrine, 9 Gavin Hoey, 10 Graham Hume, 11 Craig Young
