South Africa will face Australia in the 2nd Semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 to be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 16th November 2023. Both teams are coming with a win against their respective opponents in their previous matches.
Proteas finished 2nd in the points table with 14 points while Australia ended the league stage at number three with the number of points but less run rate. It promises to be an exciting encounter between two top-quality teams in the tournament.
Both teams have quality players that can change the course of the game with their abilities. Australia will be looking to enter the finals while South Africa will be looking to reach the first-ever finals in the ICC event.
Here we look at the 5 Players To Watch Out Between Australia and South Africa:
- Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock is an attacking batter that puts pressure on the opponent bowlers right from the word go. He has been in sensational form this World Cup with 4 centuries and would be looking to provide another brilliant display of batting in the first 10 overs against Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, and Zampa.
When these two teams met in the league stage, de Kock scored century and laid a strong foundation for a competitive total. De Kock can put the bowlers under pressure making life. He has played 29 ODI matches against Australia in ODI format with 1018 runs including 3 centuries and 3 half-centuries to his name including best score of 178.
De Kock would be hoping to provide an attacking start in the first 10 overs laying a strong foundation for South Africa to help them register victory.
- Travis Head
Travis Head has been providing decent starts in the first 10 overs along with Warner. Since the last 3 matches, Head got out cheaply. He gives a positive start and makes life tough for the opponent bowlers putting them under severe pressure.
Head played a total of 12 ODI matches against South Africa with 306 runs including 2 half-centuries to his name including the best score of 64. He would be looking to provide an attacking start in the first 10 overs that would allow them to put enough pressure on South African bowlers.
His ability to take the bowlers on makes him a tough batter to bowl at. Head will be key for Australia that would lay a strong foundation for victory.
- Aiden Markram
Aiden Markram has been in decent form during this tournament in the middle order. He has provided the stability during the middle order that allowed them to hit big scores while batting first.
Markram fell cheaply in the previous match against Afghanistan. He played a fiery knock when these two teams met during the league stage and helped South Africa post a decent total in Lucknow.
Markam played a total of 10 matches against Australia with 402 runs including 1 century and 2 half-centuries including the best score of 102 not out. Coming in the middle order, he would play a key role in providing the stability that would allow South Africa to register victory and qualify for the finals.
- Adam Zampa
Adam Zampa performed brilliantly for Australia picking wickets in the middle overs and not allowing the opponents to score runs freely. He was the pick of bowlers during the previous match against Bangladesh where the rest of the batters looked in decent touch.
Zampa struggled when Australia faced South Africa in the league match at Lucknow. He will be looking to the damage by picking wickets and not allowing Proteas batters to score runs easily.
Zampa grabbed a total of 19 wickets from 17 matches at an economy of 6.10 runs per over including figures of 4 for 48. He will play a key role in providing wickets on Eden Gardens pitch that might aid the spinners.
- Shamsi
The left-arm spinner Shamsi would play a key role for South Africa. He was not included in the previous match against Afghanistan. His ability to turn the ball makes him a dangerous bowler to face on a tough wicket to bat on.
Shamsi has a decent record in ODI cricket with 15 wickets from 8 matches at an economy of 5.03 runs per over including best figures of 4 for 61. His role is to provide wickets in the middle overs that would put the Australian batters under pressure and not allow them to hit big runs.
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