High-flying Proteas out to inflict more pain on Australia

A World Cup clash between Australia and South Africa is always mouth-watering. Who doesn't remember the epic 1999 World Cup encounters? It was a thriller the last time the sides met in the tournament in Manchester four years ago as well.

But a lot has changed since then. The captains have changed and the way they play ODIs has also seen a significant change. Australia, of late, are not taking the traditional route in this format. Rather, they now look to go hard at the top, keeping in mind the field restrictions in the slog overs.

On the other hand, South Africa have arguably the best top six on paper in the tournament. Five of them average 40-plus in 50-over international cricket and the man who doesn't - Aiden Markram - hit the fastest World Cup hundred just days ago.

But both their styles could be challenged by the conditions at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The pitch on this ground received a lot of flak during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) because of being ultra slow.

It's not sure how the renovated pitch will behave but the teams are not surely expecting big totals like in Hyderabad and Delhi. Australia crawled their way to 199 in spin-friendly Chennai in their World Cup opener and if the conditions remain the same as how it was a few months ago in the IPL, the Proteas will not enjoy this much either. 

But they will be hopeful as their opener Quinton de Kock spent a considerable amount of time in Lucknow playing for the Lucknow Super Giants in the 2023 IPL. Rassie van der Dussen hit a fine hundred in the previous match and Heinrich Klaasen is one of the most in-form players at the moment.

But they will be a little bit worried when it comes to bowling. Given the conditions, they will be tempted to bring in left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, whose defensive skills with the ball have not been up to the mark. 

They are missing a middle-over enforcer in Anrich Nortje but the three-man seam attack of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen is still a formidable one. 

Australia, on the contrary, will be desperate to bounce back from the defeat against hosts India. They will bank on the experienced trio of David Warner, Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell. 

Warner and Smith got some runs in the previous match on a tough Chennai wicket but a disappointing performance from the middle order let them down. Ravindra Jadeja made them dance to his tunes.

They will be again challenged by another left-arm spinner in Keshav Maharaj and Markram can be a good option if the pitch aids spin.

The weakest point of this Australian side remains the spin attack. Adam Zampa was nowhere near his best against India and simply did not look like a bowler who could utilise the spin-friendly conditions. Maxwell, who is playing as a frontline spinner in this World Cup, failed to make an impact with the wet ball as dew set in.

Dew again will be in focus in the Australia-South Africa game as it will begin at 2 pm local time. 

Australia could use the familiarity of Marcus Stoinis who, like de Kock, played for Lucknow in the 2023 IPL. Cameron Green, whose intent especially early in the innings has not been great, might make way for Stoinis.

South Africa will take a lot of heart from a come-from-behind series win over Australia recently although a few key players were rested. The Proteas also have good memories of the ground as they won the solitary ODI they played here.