South Africa will take on Australia in the second semi-final of the ICC World Cup on Thursday (November 16) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. All eyes will be on Eden Gardens pitch for this mouth-watering clash between these two intense teams, who have had a fair bit of history in the World Cup. South Africa finished second on the points table, while five-time champions Australia finished third on the back of seven consecutive wins.
The Proteas have played one match on the Eden Gardens pitch and got blown away by India’s spin twins Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. South Africa’s powerful batting line-up could post only 83. However, apart from that blemish, the Temba Bavuma-led side have been near flawless. They also ticked the chasing box in their last league game against Afghanistan. However, facing Australia in the knockouts is no mean task, as they have hardly faltered.
It’s now or never for Proteas to get rid of the chokers tag, which has been haunting them since the last 23 years. Eden pitch traditionally aids spinners, and by the looks of it, spinners are set to dominate in the SA vs AUS clash.
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Spinners key at low & slow Eden Gardens surface in SA vs AUS clash
Four matches have been played at the Eden Gardens, and so far in all these games, spinners have dominated the proceedings. Ravindra Jadeja also picked up a five-wicket haul. Teams will look to bat first on Eden Gardens surface, as the ball will keep low during the second innings. South Africa have got two spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. While Australia have only a frontline spinner in Adam Zampa.
So South Africa has an advantage heading into the spin department at least. The average score at Eden Gardens is 242.
Total ODI Matches: 39
Matches won batting first: 23
Matches won bowling first: 15
Average first innings score: 242
Average second innings score: 198
Highest total scored: 404/5 by India vs Sri Lanka
Highest score chased: 317/3 by India vs Sri Lanka
Lowest total recorded: 63/10 by India Women vs England Women
Lowest total defended: 195/10 by India vs South Africa
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