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T20 World Cup | ENG vs SA: Proteas vie to end Chokesrs tag as they face English challenge for semis spot

Abhishek Singh

The South African team is on the verge of qualifying for their fourth semi-final in the T20 World Cups. But between them and that elusive moment which might take them to their first-ever final too, which has been the aim of this Temba Bavuma-led team, which has slipped up only once in this tournament so far, is the table-toppers England. 

To get to final South Africa would not only have to circumvent England but also go through what is now commonly known as the battle of the net run rate against Australia. Among all this, the only good thing is that Australia play the West Indies fort in the afternoon affair on the very same day and hence the Proteas would know exactly what they have to do to get through. 

What's at stake?

On a very genuine note, for South Africa, everything is at stake. From fighting the battle against racism on the field, among the team (Quinton de Kock case) and back home through the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) trials going on under newly restructured Cricket South Africa, the only thing that has held the cricket fans of the rainbow nation together is the fact that their team has fought valiantly and still vying for a place in the semi-finals of the biggest event of the shortest format of the game. 

Thus, South Africa could get inspiration from the fact that this current squad is the binding force between the sport and the fans and can play against England the table toppers with a form and aggression that is never seen before. The one thing that they would pray for, which is also not in their hands is that if Australia wins, it should not win big. 

For England, it is yet another opportunity to stamp authority and show that they are the team to beat in this tournament and can do nothing wrong. In all the games, someone or the other has done brilliantly well for England and they have managed to get through, even in their toughest clash, which was against Sri Lanka. So they would look to go on the same way and tey and end enter the semi-finals on the back of a superb win. 

What needs to change?

For South Africa, there's hardly anything that they would like to change apart from Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen getting their form back. Both these have been crucial players coming into this World Cup, but haven’t really fired according to their potential. In what is going to be the game of their career so far, if the two could really up the ante, then there would be nothing more like it. 

For England, the team would be missing Tymal Millas and thus it would be a great opportunity to test Mark Wood before the semi-finals. They would like Wood to perform well so that they are not in any sort of trouble and are not going into the semis with an unsettled bowling lineup. 

England vs South Africa: Match Details

Match Number - 39

Date and Time: November 06, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch Report

The pitch at Sharjah would be shiny in terms of looks like it has been for quite a while now, but it would act as a facade as the wicket would be low and slow as usual and anything above the range of 150 would be hard to chase on that wicket. 

Weather Forecast

The temperature at the stadium will fall from 29-degree Celsius at 06:00 pm to 26-degree Celsius by 10:00 pm and similarly, the humidity will increase from 57% to 68%. A light breeze is expected and there are very limited chances of precipitation as well, which is a very rare phenomenon in Sharjah. 

But since there would definitely be some dew, any team winning the toss would look to field first even though chasing has been a troublesome task on this wicket. 

Team News

England

As far as England are concerned, the only change in the playing XI will be a forced one because of Mills’ unfortunate injury. 

Probable XI

Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

South Africa

South Africa would look t go with the same XI and utilise the overs of Markram and Pretorious carefully. 

Probable XI

Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

CE XI Fantasy team

Wicketkeepers Jos Buttler, 

Batters Temba Bavuma, David Miller, Eoin Morgan

All-rounders Aiden Markram, Dwaine Pretorius, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali

Bowlers Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Adil Rashid

Vice-Captain Aiden Markram, 

Captain Jos Buttler 

Discover more

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