ICC World Cup: Match 45, Australia vs South Africa, Preview – Final shot at the dice for the Proteas to finish with pride

A win for Australia will confirm a Trans-Tasman clash at the Old Trafford in the first semifinal.

Published - 05 Jul 2019, 16:14 IST | Updated - 05 Jul 2019, 16:14 IST

3 Min Read

The South Africans were two balls away from clinching a grand finale against hosts Australia in the previous World Cup, but a certain Grant Elliott had other ideas. The shambles from that defeat, unfortunately, carried it to the current edition of the World Cup, eventually ending their fight well before the other major contenders.

Not often we see South Africa not make it to the knockout stages of an ICC tournament and this is one of those rare cases. Some injuries plagued their preparations and plans, but a lot of players were not in good form and the ones who were in good touch found it difficult to get going. Kagiso Rabada clearly was one of the major disappointments of the tournament.

Australia nullified all the doubts regarding their form and once again, they dominated the group stages of an ICC tournament. They are well-experienced in dealing with such pressure-cooker situations and could rest some players.

Playing Combinations

Australia

Peter Handscomb finally made it to the squad after Shaun Marsh was ruled out due to an injury. He could come in place of Glenn Maxwell as the all-rounder was hit on the forearm in the nets. They might not rest their fast bowling trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff. Usman Khawaja has had an on and off tournament and will be keen to chip in with some good scores.

Predicted XI

David Warner, Aaron Finch (C), Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell/Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon.

South Africa

Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla have been disappointing with the bat whilst skipper Faf du Plessis only had a few good starts. Aiden Markram’s first outing in an ICC tournament turns out to be a disaster. Kagiso Rabada couldn’t really intimidate the batsmen the way he would’ve loved, but Chris Morris has been above par for the Proteas. JP Duminy could get a shot with the bat in this game.

Predicted XI

Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis (C), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, JP Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir.

Focus will be on

Steve Smith (Australia)

Smartly and silently, Steve Smith registered 287 very important runs. Aaron Finch and David Warner‘s exploits make his stats look a little dull, but he has been brilliant for the five-time champions. If he continues to bat around the hard-hitting openers and their feisty middle order, he could end up having another memorable campaign, just like the one he had last time.

Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)

With just eight wickets to his name, Kagiso Rabada has been under-par for the Proteas. He was expected to be one of their X-factor players like Starc for Australia and Bumrah for India. He has not been on that level for sure and has struggled in some big games. He would definitely want to finish the tournament with a bang against a quality batting line-up.