South Africa aims to remove the chokers tag in the upcoming semi-final of CWC 2023 against the Aussies. It will be an intense challenge for South Africa to shed their chokers tag against Australia in the World Cup 2023 knockouts. The upcoming 2nd semi-final match of this tournament is scheduled to take place on 16th November 2023.
With 14 points and a +1.261 net run rate, South Africa ranks 2nd position in the points table of ICC World Cup 2023.
South Africa’s mission to defeat the 5-time defending champions during the 2nd semi-finals of CWC 2023 would be the most intricate moment of their life. Shockingly, the Proteas have never entered the World Cup finals.
On the other side, Australia is the only team to be a part of the most number of World Cup finals. Out of the 7 final matches, Australia have won 5 times against the opposition.
The Proteas have always had a stroke of bad luck during the semi-finals, despite performing well in the league stages of the tournament.
Especially, South African players need to control their nerves during the knockout stages of the ICC World Cup 2023.
Both Australia and South Africa have been dominant with their batting performance. The top order and middle order for both teams have been explosive with their batting techniques to score huge runs.
South Africa aims to remove the chokers tag in CWC 2023 semis: Impressive Challenges to be known
At present, South Africa is the 2nd toughest team in the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament.
Here are the impressive challenges about how South Africa aims to remove the chokers tag in CWC 2023:
1. Batting First:
South Africa won all the matches in World Cup 2023 by batting first, irrespective of the pitch conditions. Contrarily, Australia has won 4 out of 5 matches batting first.
South Africa’s strong batting lineup, enhances their total to a peak level during the first innings.
Moreover, Proteas has scored more than 300 runs in 5 out of 5 matches batting first.
On the other side, Australia has scored above 300 runs in 3 out of 4 matches batting first.
2. Batting Second:
Contrarily, South Africa’s batsmen had to bat out of their comfort zones during the 2nd innings. Unlike their batting performance in 1st innings, South Africa has been struggling during the chase.
South Africa won 2 out of 4 matches while chasing the targets. South Africa had to win those 2 matches under tight situations while chasing low targets.
Whereas, Australia has won 5 out of 6 matches batting second. This includes Glenn Maxwell’s double century while chasing a target of 292 runs against Australia under the most challenging batting conditions.
3. Toss Decision:
The pitch conditions at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, are most favorable for teams batting first at this venue. Rarely, teams can make a high score during the 1st innings. In contrast, the pitch becomes much slower for batsmen to score runs at this venue.
3 out of 4 matches in CWC 2023 were won by the teams batting first at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Winning the toss and batting first would be the most suitable choice for both team captains.
4. Top Individual scores with 150+ runs :
Here is the top individual run-scorer for South Africa in World Cup 2023:
- Quinton de Kock’s 174 runs from 140 balls against Bangladesh
Similarly, the top individual run scorers for Australia in World Cup 2023 include:
- Glenn Maxwell’s double-century knock of 201 runs from 128 balls against Afghanistan.
- Mitchell Marsh’s 177 runs from 132 balls against Bangladesh.
- David Warner’s 163 runs from 124 balls against Pakistan.
From the above stats, it becomes evident that Quinton de Kock is the only batsman for his team to score above 150 runs in a single match. Whereas, three Australian batsmen have scored more than 150 runs in a match.
This proves that Australia has a strong depth in their batting line-up compared to South Africa.
5. Winnings in World Cup Semi-Finals:
South Africa has the most poor record in the World Cup Semi-finals. The proteas have lost their 6 out of 6 knockout matches in World Cups. This includes 4 semi-finals and 2 quarter-finals in the World Cup. Unfortunately, this has been the major reason for tagging South African cricketers as
“chokers”.
Conversely, Australia has played 8 semi-finals, out of which the Aussies have won 6 matches, and lost 2 games and 1 draw match.
South Africa’s previous outcomes in World Cup Knockouts: Reasons for Proteas being referred to as Chokers Tag
Based on their previous records in knockout stages, South Africa aims to remove the chokers tag in the CWC 2023 semi-finals:
1. SA vs Eng ((Semi-Finals in 1992) :
This was the starting phase for South Africa’s reference as “Chokers” in International tournaments. Initially, South Africa was required to chase 22 runs in 14 balls.
Due to severe rains, the equation was adjusted to 22 from 7 balls. The continuity of severe rains forced the match officials to further reduce the equation of 22 runs from 1 ball.
Later, the DLS method was introduced in the year 1997. According to this method, the target will be modified based on the reduced overs.
2. SA vs WI ((Semi-Finals in 1996):
West Indies set a target of 265 runs in 50 overs against South Africa. However, the Proteas managed to score only 245-10 in 49.3 overs. Thereby, South Africa had to lose the match by 20 runs.
3. SA vs AUS (Semi-Finals in 1999):
Despite chasing Australia’s target of 213 runs by losing all 10 wickets in 49.4 overs, the match was concluded with a draw result.
Unluckily, Australia had to qualify for the finals. This was because Australia ranked at a higher position in the league-stage matches.
4. SA vs AUS (Semi-Finals in 2007):
South Africa set a low target of 149 runs in 43.5 overs by losing complete 10 wickets.
Australia comfortably chased the target by smashing 153 runs in 31.1 overs by losing just 3 wickets.
5. SA vs NZ (Quarter Finals in 2011):
New Zealand batting first, scored a huge total of 299-6 in 50 overs. Finally, South Africa could score 281-5 in 50 overs, thereby losing the match by just 18 runs.
6. SA vs NZ (Quarter Finals in 2015):
South Africa scored 218-5 in 43 overs, as severe rains interrupted during the first innings. However, New Zealand under the revised playing conditions, chased the target of 299-6 in 43.5 overs.
South Africa aims to remove the chokers tag in CWC 2023 semis: Concluding Facts
Overall, South Africa’s exceptional performance in the current edition is much better than the previous editions of the World Cup. A tough contest against Australia creates an insecurity for South Africa to reach their first World Cup final.
At the same time, South Africa has a higher chance of winning, if they opt for batting first at this venue after winning the toss. Contrarily, losing the toss, needs South Africa to provide their best performance with a bit of luck favoring them to chase targets.
Ultimately, South Africa aims to remove the chokers tag in the CWC 2023 semis, no matter if the pitch and the opposition team pose the most difficult challenge.
