South Africa vs New Zealand – T20 World Cup semifinal: Teams, form, stream

The unbeaten Proteas face the challenge of an allround talented New Zealand side in the first semifinal on Wednesday.

South Africa’s red-hot form and mental strength in the face of a knockout challenge will be put to the test in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup when they meet a threatening New Zealand side on Wednesday.

Aiden Markram’s team, the only unbeaten side in the tournament, will look to bury the ghosts of their previously failed attempts to win knockout matches and lift a men’s World Cup trophy.

In their way stand Mitchell Santner’s allround XI of explosive batters, fierce fast bowlers and the most eye-catching fielding team of the tournament.

The famous Eden Gardens, known as India’s home of cricket, will host the showdown between two teams from the Southern Hemisphere.

What are South Africa’s strengths and weaknesses?

Batting

South Africa boast a power-packed batting lineup, which is led at the top by Markram. The captain has amassed 268 runs in seven matches, while Ryan Rickelton has 228.

David Miller’s heroics in the middle order have navigated the team out of trouble, while Quinton de Kock often provides blistering starts as an opener.

Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs and their pace bowlers are all able to clear the boundary lower down the order.

Bowling

Quick bowler Lungi Ngidi has taken 12 wickets and has bamboozled some of the best with his deceptively slow off-cutter while squeezing the runs.

Nightmares of previous failures

On the field, South Africa are the strongest team, but they do carry scars of previously failed attempts at lifting the trophy.

Whether the recent one, from Barbados in 2024, or the 50-over World Cup semifinal failure in 2023, the Proteas have notoriously failed at the last hurdle.