Four teams: India, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, have secured their spots in the World Cup semi-finals© Twitter
The Cricket World Cup 2023 stage is set, with the 4 semi-finalists of the tournament decided. India and South Africa were the first ones to book their spot in the last 4 while New Zealand scraped through to claim the 4th and the final spot in the knockouts. All four teams produced promising displays in the league stage, where they took on the 9 other teams, one at a time. India were the only ones to enter the semi-finals without losing a single match. But now, even a single defeat would be enough to knock them out of the tournament.
Semi-final 1: India will take on New Zealand in the first fixture of the knockouts at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The two teams had famously squared-off in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup too where the match spanned over two days due to rain. India were beaten by the Kiwis in the match. Rohit Sharma’s men will be keen to not let the history repeat itself this time.
India vs New Zealand, semi-final 1: November 15, Wednesday, 2:00 PM IST at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai
Semi-final 2:Australia and South Africa will square off in the second semi-final of the World Cup 2023. Australia, 5-time champions, lost their opening two league stage matches before winning seven on the bounce to seal the third spot in the points table. South Africa, on the other hand, also won 7 of their 9 league matches, including a victory over the Kangaroos. The Proteas might have a morale advantage, having already beaten Pat Cummins’ men but history favours the latter. It would be interesting to see if South Africa can overcome the Australian challenge once again to book their spot in an ODI World Cup final for the first time ever.
Australia vs South Africa, semi-final 2:November 16, Thursday, 2:00 PM IST at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata
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