ODI World Cup 2023: Australia vs Sri Lanka Pitch and Weather Report

The Semi-Final two on Thursday will be a crucial clash at Kolkata's Eden Gardens between South Africa and Australia. This match will determine the finalists against India in the World Cup 2023. The final is scheduled for November 19 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. This isn't the first time these teams have met in a World Cup semi-final; in 1999, the match ended in a tie, and in 2007, Australia won by 7 wickets. The day-night semi-final kicks off at 2 p.m. Australia holds the third position in the World Cup 2023 team table with 14 points, while South Africa stands second with 14 points and a 1.26 net run rate (NRR).

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Both these sides are also coming into this match on the back of some red-hot performances. Australia at one end will enter the match on a seven-game winning streak while South Africa has won the same number of matches but lost to the Netherlands. Both the teams are batting powerhouses and have some big names in their arsenal. Having said that both the teams also have weaknesses. Australia lack form in the middle order whereas batting second will be a headache for the South African team. They have struggled throughout the tournament and this weakness of Proteas is something that the Aussies would be aware of.

Eden Gardens in Kolkata is renowned for its high-scoring matches, favouring batsmen with an average first-innings score of 244. As matches progress, challenges increase for batters, evident in the average second innings score of 199. Out of 39 matches, 23 were won by the team batting first, emphasizing the advantage of setting a target. South Africa won four out of five matches played at the venue, while Australia won two out of three.

ODI World Cup 2023: Weather Report

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Cloudy weather is anticipated in Kolkata, with a 25% chance of rain and a 6% probability of thunderstorms in the next 24 hours, according to AccuWeather. Temperatures are expected to fluctuate between 28°C and 22°C, with winds blowing at around 9 km/h from the east during the day and 11 km/h from the northeast at night. Wind gusts up to 26 km/h are possible. The city is likely to experience 100% cloud cover in the next 24 hours.

Australia: Playing XI 

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David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

South Africa: Playing XI

Quinton de Kock (w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi