The third and final one day international between Ireland and South Africa takes place in Dublin on Friday with the Proteas needing a victory to salvage a series draw.
Ireland went 1-0 up in the series with a 43 run victory on Tuesday, defying odds of around 13/2 and claiming their first ODI win over the Proteas.
The hosts lost the toss and were invited to bat first and skipper Balbirnie was the mainstay of their innings, scoring 102 of their total of 290/5. Harry Tector weighed in with 79 off 68 balls including half of Ireland's 8 maximums and Dockrell added a quickfire 43 off just 23 balls at the end of the innings. Phehlukwayo was top SA wicket taker with 2 but his 10 overs went for 73 runs, Shamsi (1/42) and Maharaj (1/50) were more economical.
The Proteas reply saw Markram fall early, opening partner Janneman Malan hit 84 and van der Dussen 49 but regular wickets were lost and the Proteas were bowled out for 247 with 9 balls remaining. The Proteas cleared the ropes 6 times and the wickets were shared around with Adair, Little and McBrine each taking 2.
No result was possible in the opening contest. Ireland did make 195/4 in 40.2 overs before play was halted on Sunday with Porterfield (63) and Balbirnie (65) in the runs whilst Rabada took 2 wickets.
All 3 matches are staged at Malahide, Dublin and this was how the sides lined up in the 2nd ODI on Tuesday.
Ireland: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Paul Stirling, Andy McBrine, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, Curtis Campher, Lorcan Tucker (wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Craig Young, Joshua Little
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Janneman Malan, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne (wk), David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
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The Betting
Ireland are currently trading at around 4/1 to win the game and South Africa can be backed at around 1 / 5
Paul Stirling is 5/2 favourite to top score for Ireland with Balbirnie at 11/4. Quinton de Kock is 2/1 favourite to top score for the Proteas.
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
The Verdict
Ireland are proving to be a much bigger handful than expected and the Proteas will have to up their game to avoid a series defeat.
I will look to the player runs market for a pick and given Janneman Malan was the stand out batsmen for the Proteas in the second ODI and is taken to add a half century to his tally.
Bets: To score a half century Janneman Malan? (yes) at 7/4
Note all prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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