ICC Cricket World Cup: Australia face high-flying South Africa
After tasting a defeat versus India in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opener, Australia will be aiming to bounce back against an in-form South Africa side in match number 10 on Thursday. Australia had India under the cosh in Chennai but saw the match slip away. Meanwhile, South Africa posted the highest total in World Cup history versus Sri Lanka. Here's more.
A look at the head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, the two teams have met each other on 108 occasions. Australia have won 50 matches compared to South Africa's 54. Three games have been tied with one match seeing a no result. In six World Cup meetings, the Aussies have claimed three wins to South Africa's two. One match was tied.
Pitch report, timing, and TV listing
The surface at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow will be on the slower side. Spinners will have their say. Meanwhile, the pacers need to work on their variations and cutters to work their way through. The match is scheduled to start at 2:00pm IST. One can watch the clash live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on the Disney+Hoststar app.
Can Australia find a way?
Australia haven't been at their best of late. They surrendered a 2-0 lead against SA in a five-match series, losing 3-2. This was followed by a 2-1 series loss against India going into the World Cup. After a shy outing against India in the opener, Australia will want to bounce their way back. Consistency is required across all three departments.
SA are the team to beat at the moment
South Africa are the team to beat at the moment. They have the momentum with them and this spells trouble for Australia. SA's batting holds the key and one can see plenty of match-winners in the unit. In spin, Keshav Maharaj will look to make his presence felt. Kagiso Rabada leads a solid pace department. SA have what it takes to down Australia.
Decoding the key batting stats on offer
David Warner owns 6,438 runs at 45.02. He needs 62 runs to complete 6,500 ODI runs. Warner (1,033) can become the second-highest scorer for Australia at the World Cup by surpassing Adam Gilchrist (1,085). Rassie van der Dussen is 18 runs shy of the 2,000-run mark (1,982). In 26 matches, David Miller owns 915 runs versus Australia at 57.18.
Key bowling stats on offer
In 14 matches versus Australia, Rabada owns 26 scalps at 26.57. Meanwhile, the right-arm pacer is four wickets shy of 150 in ODIs (146). Australia's left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc has 221 ODI scalps under his belt.
Dream11 Fantasy picks
Dream11 Fantasy team 1: Quinton de Kock, David Warner (vc), Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj. Dream11 Fantasy team 2: Quinton de Kock (vc), David Warner, Steve Smith (c), Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj.
