South Africa qualifying chances: How can South Africa qualify for T20 World Cup 2021 semi finals?

Dixit Bhargav | 06/11/2021
South Africa qualifying chances: How can South Africa qualify for T20 World Cup 2021 semi finals?

South Africa qualifying chances: South Africa will have to win their last Super 12 match against England to qualify for semi-finals.

During the 39th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 between England and South Africa in Sharjah, England captain Eoin Morgan has won the toss and chose to field.

England, who have already qualified for the semi-finals, would be wanting to enter the knockout stage in the tournament unbeaten. The last match of Group 1 holds much more importance for the Proteas as their qualification for the next round is on the line.

In a bid to register a mammoth victory against one of the best teams in the tournament, South Africa haven’t tinkered with their Playing XI. England, on the other hand, have made a solitary change by including Mark Wood for injured fast bowler Tymal Mills.

South Africa qualifying chances

South Africa haven’t done themselves a favour by losing opening batter Reeza Hendricks (2) early on in their innings in a must-win encounter. In desperate need of posting a substantial first-innings total, South Africa needed to do better than scoring 40/1 in the powerplay. The likes of Aiden Markram and David Miller will have to stand tall on their potential tonight.

It is worth mentioning that South Africa will have to defeat England by at least 58 runs in order to better their NRR (Net Run Rate) than Australia. Currently, South Africa’s NRR  is 0.742 as compared to Australia’s 1.216. If the South African victory will be less than 58 runs, Australia will qualify alongside England from Group 1.

Had they bowled first at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium tonight, South Africa would’be been in a better position as chasing a target quickly is comparatively easier at this venue. Irrespective of whether they qualify for the semi-finals or not, South Africa’s T20 World Cup 2021 campaign should instill a lot of confidence in their inexperienced squad.

UPDATE: South Africa have scored 189/2 in 20 overs in the first innings. For South Africa to qualify (and knockout Australia), they will have to restrict England to 131 runs or less.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
Australia ICC T20 World Cup 2021 South Africa

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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