South Africa will clash with Australia in the second semifinal match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 16. While Australia are record winners of the World Cup with five trophies under their belt, South Africa will be aiming to make a first World Cup final appearance.
The Proteas finished the group stage strongly on second position with 14 points and a net run rate (NRR) of (+) 1.261. Australia recovered from a poor start to finish third on the points table with the same points as their opponents today, but poorer NRR.
Today’s match will be the first instance in 16 years as South Africa will face Australia in the knockout stages of a 50-over World Cup. The two teams had faced each other in 1999 and 2007 with Australia taking the win on both occasions.
Australia and South Africa have played seven times in ICC ODI World Cups where both teams picked up three wins apiece and one match was tied. The highest score Australia posted against South Africa is 377, while the Proteas posted their highest total of 325 against the Aussies.
South Africa’s lowest total against Australia is 149, while Australia’s lowest total is 153 against South Africa.
The Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata is known as a batting-friendly pitch. However, the pitch becomes slow and acts in favour of spinners as the match wears on.
The weather in Kolkata is expected to remain dry on November 16 with passing clouds, according to Accuweather. The temperature will be between 22-27 degrees Celsius.
According to Google’s win probability, Australia have a 57 per cent chance of winning the match, while South Africa have a 43 per cent chance of proceeding to the finals and face India.
CricTracker and MyKhel tilt towards a Proteas win, however, all things considered, it will not be an easy affair for both sides who will have to be on top of their games to enter the final.
