In the 37th Match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, the table toppers South Africa and India will lock horns in Kolkata on a blockbuster Sunday. Both teams are at the top of the points table. The Match is on 5th November 2023. Following is India vs South Africa Preview of Game 37 of the World Cup 2023.
India vs South Africa Today Match Preview
Team India is still undefeated in the tournament after 7/7 wins. South Africa remains the only team who has the potential of beating India. India’s last game is against the Dutch and they are likely to win that too, so if India stay undefeated tomorrow, they will end the World Cup 2023 league stage with 0 defeats.
South Africa on the other hand have won 6/7 matches. Their sole defeat was against the Dutch but that was a one off thing. South Africa have been so dominant that their net run rate is currently better than India’s.
Both sides have already qualified for the semi-finals, and this game is just about making a statement and finishing at the top. Kolkata will be the host of this nervy encounter. Kolkata has previously hosted a couple of matches of this world cup and both were quite low scoring.
Bangladesh scored 204 against Pakistan, while Netherlands scored 229 against Bangladesh here. The track is on the slower side and it will be interesting to see how two strong batting units bat here. Both sides have inform bowling too, so it will be the best against the best with both sides having equal chances of winning.
India Playing 11
Team India is unlikely to be changed. They have a settled lineup with enough options in almost every department so they won’t want to change that.
Probable XI: 1 Rohit Sharma (C), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Mohammad Shami, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj
South Africa Playing 11
South Africa might play Tabraiz Shamsi here if there is assistance for the spinners. Skipper Temba Bavuma did say in the pre-match conference that they can opt for Shamsi if the track has assistance.
Probable XI: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (C), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 David Miller, 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Lungi Ngidi/Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Gerald Coetzee
Head to Head Record
South Africa have the edge in head to head record in World Cup. They have won 3/5 matches played between the two sides. India have managed to win the remaining 2. India can level this record in this game. Overall, both sides have met 90 times in ODI cricket, with South Africa winning 50 and India winning 37. 3 games ended without any result.
Players to Watch Out For
It is hard to pick any 1 player from either sides. Majority of the players from India and South Africa are in sensational rhythm in this world cup. Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, all average 40+ in this world cup so every Indian batter is threatening. With the ball, Shami, Bumrah, Jadeja and Kuldeep, all average under 30 and have a brilliant economy rate too. Siraj has a little higher economy rate and his average is above 30 too, but with the new ball he is deadly dangerous.
Same is the case with the Proteas as well. Except Temba Bavuma, all of their specialist batters average above 40. Even Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj have an average of above 40 with the bat. Moreover, they have the firepower in their batting as most of their batters have strike rate of 90+. With the ball, except for Ngidi, all of the South African bowlers average under 30.
This game will be a clash of two complete units and whoever wins this game will be indeed the hot favorite to win the title.
South Africa vs India Toss Prediction
The Toss is likely to go South Africa’s way and they will opt to bat first here.
India vs South Africa Match Prediction
Both South Africa and India have 50-50 chances of winning this game.
