After 44 League matches, the four semi-finalists of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will look to create glory. It has been a great tournament so far with deserving top 4 with some lovely performances in the league stage.
India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand progressed into the top four stage while Afghanistan promised to defeat three former World Champions England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and then the Netherlands.
Here we look at the performance of the top four semi-finalists of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:
- India
Indian Cricket is the only unbeaten side in the tournament winning all 8 matches so far and will finish the league stage at the top of the points table. Rohit Sharma led side started the tournament with a resounding 6-wicket win over Australia at Chennai. The Indian bowlers bowled out Australia for 199 and then looked in deep trouble at 2 for 3 before Virat and Kohli stitched a superb partnership that led India to recover from a tough position.
After that performance, the Indian team thrashed Afghanistan by 8 wickets at New Delhi. They proved their worth with a 7-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan and Bangladesh in the next two matches. Indian team then displayed brilliant performances against New Zealand at Dharmshala with a superb batting performance by Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Indian bowlers wreaked havoc with a 100-run victory over England at Lucknow after posting 229 for 9. They then bundled out Sri Lanka for just 55 with a massive 302-run win at Mumbai. Virat Kohli scored his 49th century in ODI cricket after a quickfire start by Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill after Ravindra Jadeja took 5 wickets to bowl out South Africa for 83 chasing down 327 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
They will finish the league with a match against the Netherlands at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru tomorrow. Indian team would look to end the league with a resounding win.
- South Africa
South Africa finished at number 2 in the points table with the same number of points as Australia but due to a better net run rate, they performed brilliantly in the league stage. Proteas started the tournament with resounding wins over Sri Lanka and Australia. Rassie Van der Dussen, Markram, and Quinton de Kock scored centuries in the first match against Sri Lanka which helped South Africa post 428 for 5 and won the match by 102 runs.
Quinton de Kock scored successive centuries against Australia that helped South Africa post 311 for 7 in 50 overs and bowled out the Aussies cheaply. They suffered a shocking 38-run loss against the Netherlands at Dharmshala in rain rain-curtailed match.
They returned to winning ways with victories over England and Bangladesh at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. South Africa won a thrilling 1-wicket win against Pakistan as Keshav Maharaj and Shamsi held their nerves.
Proteas then outplayed New Zealand by a massive margin against New Zealand at Pune where de Kock scored his 4th century this World Cup. They suffered a crushing 243-run loss against India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. They ended the league with a closely fought victory over Afghanistan at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad chasing down 245 runs.
- Australia
The Aussies will take on South Africa in the second semi-finals to be played on 16th November at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Australia started the World Cup with 2 successive back-to-back losses against India and South Africa.
Australia then stormed back into the World Cup with seven successive wins. They began with 5 wickets over Sri Lanka at Lucknow. David Warner’s and Mitchell Marsh’s centuries laid Australia’s foundation for a massive 367 for 9 in 50 overs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, and won the match comfortably.
Thanks to brilliant centuries by Warner and Glenn Maxwell, Australia thrashed the Netherlands by 309 runs at New Delhi. They then held on to their nerves with a thrilling 5-run victory over New Zealand at Dharmshala. Travis Head returned to playing XI and put on a record-opening partnership with Warner helping Australia post 388.
Australia then produced another superb performance defeating England by 33 runs at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Thanks to Glenn Maxwell’s double century, Australia stunned Afghanistan by 3 wickets after being 91 for 7. Mitchell Marsh’ 177 not out along with contributions from Warner, and Smith, Australia chased down the target of 307 against Bangladesh at MCA Stadium, Pune with an 8-wicket win.
- New Zealand
The Kiwis team finished in number fourth position with 10 points. New Zealand began the tournament with 4 wins on a trot against defending Champions England by 9 wickets, Netherlands by 99 runs, Bangladesh by 8 wickets, and Afghanistan by 149 runs.
New Zealand suffered a slump as they suffered four losses in a row against India, Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan. Out of these four matches, Kane Williamson was not there in the matches against India, Australia, and South Africa due to an injury to his wrist.
Needing to win, New Zealand produced a dominating performance over Sri Lanka winning the match by 5 wickets in just 23.2 overs chasing down 172.
The first semi-finals will see the repeat of the 2019 edition of the World Cup between India and New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai while the second semi-finals will Australia taking on South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 16th November 2023.
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Semi-finalists Line-Up
- India vs New Zealand ( Wankedhe Stadium, Mumbai)- 15th November
- South Africa vs Australia ( Eden Gardens, Kolkata)- 16th November 2023.
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