South Africa Win Toss, Opt To Bat First vs Australia

SA vs AUS ODI World Cup 2023 semifinal Live Score: ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinal 2 is set to take place between South Africa and Australia on November 16 (Thursday), at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, commencing at 2:00 PM IST. The South African cricket team finished second in the league table of the tournament, gathering 14 points from nine matches, securing seven victories and enduring two losses. Their journey to the semi-finals has been fueled by the impressive performances of Quinton de Kock, their top run-scorer. Captain Temba Bavuma leads a formidable bowling lineup, including pace bowlers Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, and spinner Kesha Maharaj.

Meanwhile, Australia secured a place in the semi-finals by finishing third in the league table with 14 points, winning seven matches and losing two out of nine encounters. The team will rely on the explosive batting skills of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh and look to spinner Adam Zampa for a good bowling performance.

South Africa hold a strong recent record against Australia in ODIs, winning nine out of their last 11 encounters. However, in World Cup knockout matches, South Africa have never beaten Australia, having lost in the 2007 semis and famously tied in 1999 at Edgbaston.

Surprisingly, South Africa have never made it to the final of the men’s Cricket World Cup despite reaching the semi-finals multiple times. On the contrary, Australia have appeared in more finals (7) and won more titles (5) than any other team in the tournament’s history.

Pitch conditions at Eden Gardens in Kolkata typically favour batting, with an average score of 289 for the team batting first in the last ten matches. The pitch tends to slow down as the game progresses, and spinners are usually favoured at this venue.

According to weather forecasts, there’s a 33% chance of rain during the day and a 56% chance at night during the Australia vs South Africa semi-final match. Consequently, there’s a high likelihood of rain impacting the AUS vs SA encounter. Humidity levels are expected to be at 77% during the day, escalating to 94% at night.

SA vs AUS Probable Playing XI

South Africa probable XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo/ Tabraiz Shamsi, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

Australia probable XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood