Last Update on: November 16th, 2023 at 01:00 pm
The batter Australia plays South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata on November 16, Thursday. This is Australia’s first match at this venue and it is the big semifinal of the ICC World Cup 2023. The match begins at 2 pm IST.
Australia entered the semi-finals finishing third on the points table. They won seven games and lost two ending with 14 points on the table. One of the losses came against South Africa who have been rampant in this World Cup when batting first.
Australia after the early losses recollected as a side and has been playing some consistent cricket. There are many players part of this World Cup squad who played the last World Cup and hence there is an evenness in the side.
Australia and South Africa have played 109 ODI matches with the Aussies winning 50 and the Proteas 54 games. Both have won three matches each out of the seen matches in World Cups. One match was tied which was the famous 1999 World Cup semi-final.
Heading into this World Cup, the two teams played a T2I and ODI series. Australia whitewashed the Proteas in the T20I series but lost the ODI series 3-2. The series was closely contested and another similar contest is on the cards.
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Knowing South Africa’s problems while chasing, it is very evident that the Aussies will ask the Proteas to chase. Australia’s win over Afghanistan from an impossible situation will bode well for the side. It also highlighted the team’s batting depth.
Australia rested Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc in the match against Bangladesh. Both should be back in the XI in place of possibly Marcus Stoinis and Sean Abbott. The rest of the squad might remain the same.
Australia Playing 11 vs South Africa – ICC World Cup 2023, Semi-Final 2
David Warner
Warner will open the innings for Australia. He is one short of 500 runs for the tournament with two tons to his name. He will be eyeing another big one in the semi-final.
Travis Head
Head will open the batting with Warner. He made a comeback in the match against England after his injury and scored a century in that game. He has played four matches so far scoring 130 runs at an average of 32.50.
Mitchell Marsh
Marsh will bat at three. he is fresh off an unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh in Australia’s last league game. He is also amongst the top run-getters targeting 500 in the next game. He is also a useful bowling option.
Steve Smith
Smith will bat at four. He scored an unbeaten 63 against Bangladesh in a chase of 307 for Australia. He has had a below-par World Cup by his standards scoring 268 runs in eight matches.
Marnus Labuschagne
Labuschagne will bat at five. He has been a big asset in the Australian batting order. The batter has scored 286 runs in nine matches at an average of 35.75. He is three short of 50 ODI matches for Australia.
Glenn Maxwell
Maxwell will bat at six. He was rested against Bangladesh after he scored an unbeaten 201 to win the game for the Aussies against Afghanistan. He is placed 11th in the run-scoring charts three short of 500 in the tournament.
Josh Inglis (WK)
Inglish has been the preferred wicketkeeping option for Australia over Alex Carey since the second half of the tournament. He has played a few cameos in this World Cup.
Pat Cummins (C)
Cummins will lead the side and bat at eight. He will always be remembered for his 12 runs in the match-winning partnership with Glenn Maxwell. He has taken 10 wickets so far in the tournament.
Mitchell Starc
Starc too has taken 10 wickets. Overall, he has crossed the landmark of 50 World Cup wickets in this edition. He is now on 59 wickets from just 18 matches. Against Bangladesh, he took was rest along with Glenn Maxwell.
Josh Hazlewood
Hazlewood will be the third seamer in the XI. He has taken 12 wickets from nine games at an average of 31.42. Australia have managed to play almost every game with this pace trio.
Adam Zampa
Zampa will conclude Australia’s likely XI. He is the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 22 wickets from nine matches becoming the spinner with the most wickets in a single World Cup edition. He will have a huge role to play in the match.
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