South Africa are witnessing Australia being Australia at the big stage as the top-order falls prey to swing and seam in the ICC World Cup 2023 semi-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Teams:
South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Pitch and weather: There’s 36% chance of rain. 65m square boundaries, 75m straight boundaries. This is the same wicket that was used for England – Pakistan match. Spinners have had a good time bowling here. Spin will win, reckons Hayden. Going to be tough to score runs as the spinners will get more assistance in the second innings. Captain winning the toss should bat first despite the overcast conditions, reckons Pommie Mbangwa.