NEW DELHI: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat against Australia in the second semifinal of the World Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Both South Africa and Australia made two changes to their line-ups. The Proteas brought in Tabraiz Shamsi for Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen for Andile Phehlukwayo.
Five-time champions Australia replaced Marcus Stoinis and Sean Abbott with Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc.
After winning the toss, Temba Bavuma said, "We will bat first. Not something I really dreamt of. We have come against a team like Australia in the semi-final. Means a lot to me, there's a game to focus on. Very important to stay in the present. Need to stick to our processes. Shamsi is in for Ngidi, Jansen comes in for Phehlukwayo."
After losing the toss, Pat Cummins said, "We would have batted first as well. But it is overcast and hopefully there's some swing early on. They play pretty similar style, unfortunately they have won a last few, we are due. We have been in these positions before. We have a lot of experience. We were not up to our best in those couple of games. But guys have been positive in the last seven games. Two changes for us. Stoinis and Abbott are out. Maxwell and Starc are in."
"There's 36% chance of rain. 65m square boundaries, 75m straight boundaries. This is the same wicket that was used for England - Pakistan match. Spinners have had a good time bowling here. Spin will win," reckoned former Aussie opener Matthew Hayden in his pitch report.
"Going to be tough to score runs as the spinners will get more assistance in the second innings. Captain winning the toss should bat first despite the overcast conditions," reckoned Pommie Mbangwa.
The winner will take on India in the final on Sunday.
South Africa 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
Australia XI: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
