Australia
South Africa
We have reached the business end of the ODI World Cup and now 4 teams will collide at the semi-final stage. By finishing up at 2nd and 3rd position in the point table, South Africa and Australia will come face to face again for the 2nd semi-final fixture which is scheduled to take place on 16th November, Thursday at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
South Africa displayed their dominance in the tournament and witnessed only two losses that came against the Netherlands and India. It will be interesting if the Proteas can bury the ghost of the 1999 and 2007 ODI World Cup.
After a disappointing start to the tournament, the Aussies were back on the right track and registered 7 wins after two consecutive losses at the beginning of the tournament.
In the last 5 ODIs, de Kock has scored two centuries and a total of 358 runs at an average of 71.6.
The betting tip is...
Quinton de Kock will score more than 70.5 runs.
73 %
27 %
AustraliaSouth AfricaAs the ODI World Cup started, Australia was not in the right form but after two consecutive losses, the team picked up the pace and since then skipper Pat Cummins and his men have not looked back. With a win over Bangladesh in the previous fixture, Australia registered themselves to face South Africa in the semi-final stage.
David Warner and Mitchell Marsh have been in positive form throughout the tournament. Warner is currently the fifth-highest scorer of the World Cup with 499 runs in 9 fixtures at an average of 55.44. He has a good experience playing at the Eden Gardens because of the IPL and will be expected to score a big number.
Steve Smith scored 63 off 64 in the previous game and he will be the trump card for Australia in the semi-final stage with Marnus Labuschagne as his partner in the middle order. The only problem with the Aussies is Travis Head not able to play as per expectations at the top order.
On the bowling front, Adam Zampa has been deadly with his spin variations as he becomes the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 wickets in 9 matches at an economy of 5.26. Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Marcus Stoinis will be expected to get early wickets with the pace attack.
After heroic innings against Afghanistan, Maxwell suffered a hamstring injury and back spasm. The team management is not yet sure about his presence for the semi-final fixture.
Predicted Lineup: Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Josh Inglis, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa
A comfortable win over Afghanistan by South Africa cemented their place in the semi-finals. This is the third time in the history of the ODI World Cup, that South Africa is meeting Australia in the semi-final and this time the young squad of the Proteas will be motivated to not make any mistakes during the game and completely change the fate of the team.
Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen will be expected to give the team a solid start at the top order. De Kock is the second-highest scorer in the tournament currently with 591 runs in 9 fixtures at an average of 65.66. Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller will be expected to do major damage in the middle order. The only concern for the team management is the continuous failure of skipper Temba Bavuma with the bat.
Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jensen have displayed some extraordinary performances in the tournament. With 18 and 17 wickets in the overall tournament, the duo has handled the pressure exceptionally well. Keshav Maharj will be responsible for the spin attack in partnership with Aiden Markram.
There are no injuries in the camp of the Proteas and there are no changes expected in the winning combination of the team.
Predicted Lineup: Temba Bavuma, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Andile Phehlukwayo, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada
In the league stage, South Africa has already defeated Australia in match number 10. It was a dominating win and the Proteas will be confident enough to repeat the same performance.
Australia is currently struggling with their pace attack and Maxwell’s absence. We predict a win for South Africa on Thursday.
