The former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has said that South Africa’s chances of defeating Australia in the 2023 World Cup semi-final hinge on their ability to bat first and set a challenging total.
The teams are set to face off at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, November 16. The winner will go on to play against India in the championship match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, November 19.
While previewing the game on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that in the second semifinal, Australia will have the upper hand against South Africa.
The former said, “South Africa are the same team that beat Australia in Lucknow, batted first, scored a lot of runs, and then blew them away. However, it seems the same South Africa will not be able to chase now. Both chase and choke have only five letters and if they get to chase in a semi-final, they are going to get stuck 100 percent.”
The former cricketer further added, “The only way for South Africa to win is to win the toss, bat first, and score 350. Then they have a chance to win. If they don’t get to bat first, it’s 70-30 in Australia’s favor.”
Chopra believes that if the target is below 275, Australia will remain strong favorites with a 70-30 advantage. On the other hand, he suggests that if Temba Bavuma and his team set a target of around 325, they would have a slightly higher chance at 51-49 against Australia.
