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And so, we have our first finalist as well as the venue for the final locked in. India clinically chasing down 265 against Australia means that Dubai will host the final on Sunday. But which team faces the Men in Blue will be known towards the closing hours of Wednesday as South Africa face New Zealand in a mouth-watering semifinal in Lahore.
The Gaddafi Stadium has produced plenty of runs in this tournament and has comfortably been the best batting surface on display. It will be a completely different test in the final in different conditions for whichever team earns that ticket but their objective for the moment is to deliver the needful in a high-stakes semifinal.
Both teams have been outstanding throughout the course of their campaigns. South Africa arrive unbeaten and having topped their group, courtesy of two comfortable - and huge - wins overs Afghanistan and England on either side of their washout against Australia. New Zealand finished second in their group having lost to India over the weekend but remain one of the in-form teams with almost all components clicking optimally.
One of the few boxes that were pending to be ticked off was a score for Kane Williamson. He duly responded with a sublime 81 on a turning pitch in Dubai on Sunday and while he couldn't get his team past the finish line, that knock augurs really well for him and the Blackcaps ahead of the knockouts. Tom Latham has been the other form batter although Daryl Mitchell is yet to get a score against his name. Having tonned up in the semifinal of the 2023 World Cup though, he will look to reprise those heroics albeit in a winning cause this time around.
Rachin Ravindra and Will Young, who will open the innings for the Kiwis, have both scored a ton so far. The true nature of the Lahore surface ought to play into their hands too while Glenn Phillips remains a utility cricketer who can win a match all by himself on a given day - on the field as well, for his acrobatics have been nothing short of extraordinary. Michael Bracewell hasn't clicked yet with the bat but has been very effective with his off-spinners.
The bowling has been in fine hands with skipper Mitchell Santner bowling outstandingly well. Bracewell and Santner aside, Phillips and Ravindra remain options who can roll their arm over for a quiet spell in the middle-overs. Matt Henry has led the pace attack admirably well with Kyle Jamieson starting to come into his own. William O'Rourke could prove to be the point of difference on a deck as true as what the Gaddafi Stadium could throw up though considering his ability to play the role of an enforcer.
Onto South Africa then. A team that made the T20 World Cup final last year and are slated to play the WTC final too in three months' time. They'd dearly want to enter a third and lift the title at that but they have a few fitness concerns to tide over.
Skipper Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi missed the game against England with an illness although the latest update is that they have recovered for this contest. Aiden Markram, who deputized for Bavuma against England, has a hamstring cloud hanging over his availability for this match. Should he not make the cut, the Proteas could go back to the combination they fielded against Afghanistan with Ryan Rickelton opening alongside de Zorzi, followed by Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen.
Should Markram be deemed fit though, Bavuma should take his place at the top alongside Rickelton with de Zorzi continuing to miss out and Tristan Stubbs, who bagged a duck against England as a makeshift opener, set to make way. Heinrich Klaasen enters on the back of a stellar fifty and while David Miller hasn't had too much time with the bat this tournament, he remains a man for the big occasion.
Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder's bring degrees of freedom aplenty in terms of team balance. Both have bowled outstandingly well with Jansen capable of breaking the game open in the powerplay and Mulder playing the holding role. Lungi Ngidi's form remains a matter of concern and while Kagiso Rabada went for a few against England, he remains the side's ace weapon through the middle-overs with Keshav Maharaj expected to choke the opposition.
All in all, these are two supremely well-balanced sides. Both teams faced each other not long ago in a tri-series encounter in Karachi where the Blackcaps chased down 300+ without breaking a sweat. South Africa weren't at full strength there though and with a more robust squad to choose from, they will look to set the record straight and march into the final.
Two high-quality outfits. Two teams in form. And two teams with a spot in the final at stake as they look to throw punch after punch at the other. A New Zealand-South Africa knockout ten years ago produced an epic saga in Auckland. If this one's anywhere near as thrilling, we could be left with few fingernails by the time this is done!
South Africa Probable XI: Temba Bavuma (c), Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
New Zealand Probable XI: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O'Rourke
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Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
