KOLKATA, India (AP) — South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia in the Cricket World Cup semifinal on Thursday as it chases a so-far elusive spot in the championship match.
The winner at Eden Gardens will advance to Sunday’s final against India, which routed New Zealand by 70 runs in Mumbai to extend its winning streak at its home World Cup to 10 consecutive games.
The South Africans have won all five games when batting first so far in the tournament, including a win over Australia in the league stage.
South Africa has never previously reached a final in the 50-over World Cup, narrowly missing out when a last-over runout in the 1999 semifinals resulted in a tie and allowed Australia to advance on a countback and go on to win the title.
The Proteas are 0-3 at this stage, including two losses to Australia.
The Australians have won five World Cups titles from seven finals in this format. India and the West Indies are next with two titles apiece.
Australia lost its opening two games of the tournament to India and South Africa but rebounded to win seven straight to qualify for the playoffs in third place, slightly behind the Proteas on net run-rate.
Both teams made two lineup changes from their last first-stage games.
Allrounder Marco Jansen returned in the middle-order and Tabraiz Shamsi was recalled at the expense of pace bowler Lungi Ngidi to give South Africa a second spin option.
Allrounder Glenn Maxwell and pace bowler Mitchell Starc returned for Australia after being rested against Bangladesh.
The pitch at Eden Gardens usually aids batsmen in the first innings but there is a major chance of rain interrupting the semifinal.
Kolkata is expecting cloud cover through the day and swing could play a role. If it stays dry, then spin will be a factor as the game progresses.
As per tournament playing conditions, there is a reserve day in place for both semifinals and the final.
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Lineups:
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma (captain), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
