After what could have been described as a fairytale start for New Zealand, they have faltered a bit in their way with a couple of back-to-back losses and will now be up against an upbeat South African side that has barely put a foot wrong in the competition except for the odd slip up against Netherlands (which happened to be a rather surprising one).
As far as South Africa are concerned, they have not only managed to score huge wins while batting first, but they also seemed to have put the monkey off their backs when it comes to chasing. History they have been a team categorized as “chokers” when it came to chasing, but the game against Pakistan seems to have provided the right amount of confidence for them as we head towards the business end of the tournament.
What to expect in terms of the pitch and weather?
Given that the game has been happening in Pune, the pitch is expected to be batting friendly like the other games that have been played here. Although it’s interesting to note that while conditions have been good for batting, not even a single high-scoring game has occurred so far. Teams batting first have usually scored in the vicinity of 240-250 runs with the team batting second chasing it down with ease. Although with the two of the better batting sides facing up against each other on Wednesday, there might be a chance of a high-scoring encounter happening – something maybe along the lines of the Trans-Tasman rivalry that took place in Dharamshala.
As far as the weather is concerned, it’s expected to be in the range of 32-33 degrees in the afternoon during the commencement of the game with the mercury expecting to drop down later in the evening. The effect of dew might play on the minds of the captains at the toss as well.
Expected Playing 11s:
New Zealand - Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(C/WK), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
South Africa - Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock(WK), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee
Some interesting statistics/facts:
- NZ have been unbeaten against South Africa since the 2003 World Cup. South Africa last won a game against the Kiwis in the 1999 edition.
- QDK needs 45 runs to beat Jacques Kallis for most runs in a single world cup edition. Kallis made 485 in the 2007 edition.
- Tom Latham needs 56 runs to complete his 6k ODI runs.
- Jonny Bairstow in 2019 made the record of most runs in a debut world cup. He scored 532 while Rachin Ravindra has scored 406 so far
- If de Kock scores 20 Runs this match, his runs tally this WC – 451, would more higher than his combined Runs Tally in his other 2 WCs – 145 (2015) & 305 (2019)
- These 2 sides are the only sides to face each other in Every World Cup since South Africa’s inception in 1991
- Lockie Ferguson needs 3 Wickets to complete 100 ODI Wickets.
- If SA defeats NZ, both SA and India will qualify, with huge boost for Pakistan too.
Venue:Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Date & Time:1st November 2023 at 2 PM IST
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar
Dream 11 Team:
