T20 World Cup 2021, Match 13: Australia vs South Africa, Stats Preview: Player records and approaching milestones

The first game of the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2021 will see Australia and South Africa crossing swords. The encounter takes place at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on October 23 (Saturday). Unlike the previous ICC tournaments this century, these two sides won’t start this tournament as favourites this time around. However, there are still some serious match-winners in both camps.

Considering the on-paper strength of the Aussie side, they seem to have a pretty balanced squad. However, the concern is the form of players. The likes of Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis recovered form injuries recently and it would be interesting to see how they perform. At the same time, David Warner has been woefully out of touch this year. Nevertheless, in-form players Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh need to contribute significantly.

On the other hand, South Africa’s squad was considered under-par by many as the likes of Faf du Plessis and Imran Tahir weren’t selected. However, victories in practice matches against Afghanistan and Pakistan would have boosted their morale. Rassie van der Dussen, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada are some marquee names in the Proteas camp.

Meanwhile, let’s look at important stats and numbers ahead of the 13th game of the T20 World Cup 2021:

Head to Head: Australia dominate South Africa in terms of head to head record in T20Is. In 22 clashes, Aussies won 13 games while eight encounters went in South Africa’s favour. One of their matches got abandoned. These two sides have met only once in T20 World Cup and Australia won that game by eight wickets

27 – Aaron Finch needs 27 runs to become the fifth batter to complete 2500 T20I runs.

7 – Glenn Maxwell needs seven hits over the fence to become the second Australian after Aaron Finch to complete 100 sixes in T20Is.

48 – Rassie van der Dussen needs 48 runs to complete 4000 T20 runs.

1 – Tabraiz Shamsi needs one wicket to become the third South African bowler to complete 50 T20I wickets.

18 – Marcus Stoinis needs 18 runs to complete 1500 runs in international cricket.

57 – Matthew Wade is 57 runs shy of completing 3000 runs in T20 cricket.

1 – Aaron Finch needs one hit over the fence to become the second Australian after Shane Watson to complete 400 sixes.
7 – Reeza Hendricks is seven runs short of completing 1000 runs in T20 internationals.

74 – Aiden Markram needs 74 runs to complete 500 runs in T20I cricket.

64 – Heinrich Klaasen needs 64 runs to complete 500 runs in T20I cricket.

85 – Rassie van der Dussen needs 85 runs to complete 2500 runs in international cricket.