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