Australia will play their second match of the ongoing World Cup 2023 against South Africa at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday. The Aussies had lost their opening match against India and they will look to get their maiden win of the tournament.
South Africa, on the other hand, made a promising start to their campaign, hammering Sri Lanka by 102 runs after posting a gargantuan score of 428 runs on the board. Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram all scored centuries on a featherbed in Delhi.
South Africa has always taken a lot of pride in their fielding but they were not up to the mark against Sri Lanka and they would want to improve that aspect of their game, which can prove to be a major difference in winning and losing.
Meanwhile, Australia could not show resistance on a difficult Chennai track as they were folded for only 199 runs against India. David Warner and Steve Smith got off to starts but could not convert their scores into substantial scores. Furthermore, Australia has only Adam Zampa as a specialist spinner and it could prove to be their kryptonite.
Both of these teams had met recently in a five-match ODI series, in which South Africa had come from behind to win by 3-2. Ergo, the Proteas will aim to replicate the same success against Australia.
Match Prediction: Australia might enter the contest as slight favorites against South Africa.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc.
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.
