Australia had defeated South Africa in ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final.
Been playing ODI cricket against each other since 1992, Australia-South Africa rivalry is set to embark on a new journey on Tuesday. Having somehow not faced each other in the first eight seasons of the ICC Champions Trophy, the two powerhouses will be playing their first such match on February 25.
A battle of two depleted squads will result in one of them tasting defeat for the first time in 2025 Champions Trophy. The other will bolster its chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Despite Australia winning all their three ODIs against South Africa in Pakistan, the last of which was played over three decades ago, the latter will enter the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium as the front-runner because of the following reasons:
Australia’s Have Lost Four Out Of Last Five ODIs Against South Africa
In the last decade, Australia have strangely managed to lose ODIs quite frequently against South Africa. As a result, winning five and losing 16 out of 22 outings.
In this period, Australia's win/loss ratio of 0.312 is the second-worst among all teams who have faced South Africa a minimum of five times in this format. Sri Lanka (0.222), who have won four and lost 18 out of their 22 matches, have fared the worst against the Proteas.
Australia Head-to-Head Record Against South Africa
Australia, who have had the edge over South Africa in the other two formats, fall behind in ODI cricket. In fact, with the exception of South Africa, Australia have never lost more ODIs than they’ve won against any other team. Having faced them 110 times in the format, Australia have won 51 and lost 55 matches till date.
Australia’s Run Rate Is Uninspiring
Out of the 17 ODI teams that Australia have faced at neutral venues, a run rate of 4.97 against South Africa is their second-lowest after West Indies (4.67). Apart from these two teams, Australia score at 5 (or more) runs per over against all other teams.
 "Bhargav Dixit")
