World Cup, SA vs AUS semi-final: Pitch and weather reports
Australia will take on South Africa in the second semi-final of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. Both sides fared brilliantly in the league stage, winning seven of their nine games apiece. However, SA thrashed the Aussies by 134 runs in the league stage. The winner of this duel will meet India in the grand finale. Here are the pitch and weather reports.
A look at the track conditions
The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the match on November 16 from 2:00pm IST. The track here has generally been fruitful for batting. The quick outfield gives batters good returns for their shots. Spinners, however, can be effective in the middle overs. Meanwhile, the ongoing competition has seen a couple of low-scoring games at this venue.
Will rain play any part?
It will be a cloudy day in Kolkata with patches of sunshine. As per Accuweather, the temperature is expected to hover around 22-28 degrees Celsius during the game. Moreover, there is a 70% chance of rain. The humidity is also expected to hover around 76%. Notably, a reserve day is in place for this contest.
Here are the stadium stats
Teams batting first have won 23 out of 39 ODIs played here. 244 reads the average first innings total. India defended the lowest ODI score (195) here against SA (1993). While Australia have won two of three seven games here, SA own two wins and three defeats at this venue. Chasing teams have lost three of the four games here in the ongoing tournament.
Here are the probable XIs
Australia's probable XI: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis (WK), Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (C), Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood. South Africa's probable XI: Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (WK), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.
