The fiercest competition of the WC is here and we would be seeing the battle of the dragons in this fixture. The battle between the bat and the ball would be at high as the run machines from both the sides with the willow would be waiting to breathe fire. Welcome to the preview of the dragons of the World Cup and the new potential champions, Australia and South Africa.
Australia: The dragons of the World Cup started their WC campaign in a rather unimaginable way. The spin trio of Kuldeep, Ashwin and Jadeja made the most of the Australian batters with figures of 30-3-101-6. Warner and Smith were the only positives from the Australian camp with scores of 41 and 46, Hazlewood and Starc were back to business with early strikes but then could not capitalize to skittle the Indian team. Apparently after 17 years, Australia have lost the first match of a World Cup which itself is a big surprise for the team they have. They would now keep behind the performance they gave and would be gunning to showcase their prowess in the upcoming games. They would now be facing South Africa to whom they lost the ODI series a month before the WC. They would be wary of the onslaught of Markram and Klaasen and would be making plans to control them.
South Africa: The chokers of the World Cup, as always called, have turned the clock and are breathing fire since the last few months. They defeated the mighty Aussies last month albeit Heinrich Klaasen’s heroics and would be carrying the same momentum. The trio of Markam, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen tore apart the Sri Lankan bowling last match and posted a mammoth 428/5, the highest score in a World Cup match. Young sensation Gerald Coetzee with able support from Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada skittled the Sri Lankan lineup for 326 and started their tournament with a bang. They would like to keep the momentum alive and continue the same coming into this match against the Aussies.
Probable Playing XI:
Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Alex Carey (WK), Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins (C), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (WK), Temba Bavuma (C), Rassie Van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Tarbraiz Shamsi / Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee.
Interesting Facts and Stats:
(*) Australia and South Africa have faced each other in 108 matches in ODI. Out of these 108 games , Australia have won 50 whereas South Africa have come out victorious on 54 occasions . 1 match ended without a result. 3 matches ended with tied.
(*) David Warner is the highest run getter for Australia vs South Africa with 1213 runs at a S/R of 103.32 averaging 43.32 (total 28 matches). David Miller is the highest scorer for South Africa vs Australia with 915 runs at a S/R of 106.39 at an average of 57.18 (total 26 matches).
(*) Kagiso Rabada is the highest wicket taker among Aus vs SA with 26 wickets at an economy of 6.26 (13matches) while Hazlewood follows Rabada with 25 wickets at an economy of 5.61 (15 matches).
(*) Quinton de Kock has now 45 dismissals behind the wickets vs Australia (39 catches, 1 Run out and 5 stumpings) and would be vying for 50 dismissals behind the wickets in this match.
(*) Australia and South Africa have faced each other in 6 matches in ICC ODI World Cup tournaments. Out of these 6 games, Australia have won 3 whereas South Africa have come out victorious on 2 occasions. 1 match ended with tied. The highest total posted by Australia is 377 runs while highest score posted by South Africa is 325 when these two teams have clashed with each other in WC. 149 is the lowest total posted by South Africa and 153 is the lowest total posted by Australia in the marquee event.
Pitch, Weather, Toss and Venue (Credits: www.sportstiger.com):
The Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow has produced often produced spin-friendly tracks with an average score of 210. Here, the batters are often seen struggling to score runs as slower bowlers capitalize. Fast bowlers can also find some movement with the new ball. Batting second on this ground could be slightly easier if the dew factor comes into play.
Date: 12th October, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM IST
Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Dream XI Team:
