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Match Details
Date: October 23, 2021
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Preview: Australia and South Africa will lock horns in Match 13 of the T20 World Cup 2021 to kickstart the Super 12 Group matches. Both the sides will be eager to get their T20 World Cup campaign off to a winning start on Saturday. The Aussies will be led by Aaron Finch while Temba Bavuma will captain South Africa.
Head-to-Head:
Pitch Report: Four matches have been played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi so far in the T20 World Cup 2021. The pitch will favour the batters slightly but scoring runs won't be that easy on a sluggish pitch. Spinners are expected to get some assistance from this pitch.
Team Analysis
Australia: The Aussies are searching for their maiden T20 title. However, they come into the tournament on the back of a disastrous run, having lost bilateral T20I series to Bangladesh, West Indies, New Zealand, India and England. But some of those performances came with a weakened team as several regular players opted out of Australia's recent white-ball tours.
David Warner’s form will be a big cause of concern for the team management while skipper Aaron Finch and vice-captain Pat Cummins are also short of match practice. But the team has a solid middle order comprising the likes of Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh, who all are quality players and can turn the match on its head. The bowling department is also stacked with abundance of talent in the form of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Josh Hazlewood.
South Africa: The Proteas have been in terrific form lately as they won both of their practice games against Pakistan and West Indies. They also won three consecutive series against defending champion West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka in recent times. Their squad has gone through a rebuilding phase recently and their team balance looks well-settled at the moment. Their hopes for this match will rest on Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, world No. 1 bowler Tabraiz Shamsi and Rassie van der Dussen, all of whom have plenty of experience of playing at the top level.
Squads
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, W Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen.
Conclusion: England, West Indies, South Africa and Australia will be the front-runners to progress to semis from this Group 1. The fight for the top two places in the group is expected to be a close battle between these four teams. As a result, each match will be of great significance in this group and no team can afford to get complacent. Coming to this match, the Proteas are the favourites to emerge victorious considering the form of two teams. However, if the Aussies can get their team combination right, they can also turn the tables on South Africa.
Match Prediction:
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