Is Temba Bavuma playing in today’s SA vs AUS 2023 World Cup semi-final match?
South African captain Temba Bavuma is leading the team in their 2023 World Cup semi-final match against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
After winning the toss and batting first, the Proteas skipper confirmed that he is not "100 percent fit", but added that he is hoping to be good enough.
There were concerns over Bavuma's fitness ahead of the match. On the eve of the semi-finals, he had admitted that he was facing fitness issues. The right-handed batter strained his hamstring in the game against Afghanistan.
Bavuma did take part in a long training session despite his fitness issues. He told reporters on Wednesday:
"Physically I feel alright. Obviously not 100%. So obviously this day becomes important in terms of decision about tomorrow. I'm quite confident, but I mean, it's not a unilateral decision that will be made. In a state of mind, obviously a bit nervous of the game. It will be our first semi-final and as a team. But I think the feeling is no different I guess from any game that we've encountered within the World Cup.”
South Africa qualified for the 2023 World Cup semi-finals by finishing second in the league stage. They won seven of their nine matches, only losing to India and Netherlands.
Temba Bavuma has been in poor form in the 2023 World Cup
While South Africa have been highly impressive in the 2023 World Cup across departments, Bavuma’s form has been a cause of concern for the team. In seven innings, he has only managed 145 runs at an average of 20.71 and a strike rate of 75.12, with a best of 35.
In contrast, his opening partner Quinton de Kock is the second-leading run-getter in the World Cup. The left-hander has smashed 591 runs in nine innings at an average of 65.67 and a strike rate of 109.24, with four hundreds.
Rassie van der Dussen has also had an impressive 2023 World Cup campaign, scoring 442 runs in nine innings at an average of 55.25 and a strike rate of 88.58.
SA vs AUS, 2023 World Cup 2nd semi-final: Playing XIs
South Africa: 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: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.