New Zealand will face South Africa in the 32nd match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023. The NZ vs SA clash will take place at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune from 2 PM IST onwards.
With both teams firmly in contention for semi-final berths, one can expect good game of cricket where batters of both sides are expected to set the tone of the match.
For New Zealand (8 points from 6 games) , the Dharamsala leg after four straight victories didn't pan out on expected lines and another loss would give the likes of Afghanistan (6 points) and Pakistan (4 points) a shot at semi-final qualification.
On the other hand, if South Africa (10 points from 6 games) win, the 12 points will almost put them in the last-four bracket alongside India.
Hence, it would be one of the most high-stakes game of the league stage and a team like Pakistan wouldn't mind if New Zealand suffer a hat-trick of defeats.
Also Read: Latest ICC World Cup 2023 Points Table: Pakistan Jump To Fifth Position, Bangladesh Eliminated
Stand-in New Zealand skipper Tom Latham on Tuesday called on his world-class bowlers to be proactive and understand the match-ups ahead of their crucial World Cup clash against a rampaging South Africa in Gahunje.
"Yeah, I think it's just recognising situations as best you can and trying to be proactive as much as we can as well from a bowling point of view and I guess from a field placement point of view as well," Latham said during the pre-match press conference.
"Like every team we do our scouting, trying to find weaknesses from a batting point of view from South Africa, they're a team that's running pretty hot at the moment."
'They've got some guys in form from a batting point of view. So again, it's going to be another great challenge. And we have come to a different venue and we've got to adapt as quickly as we can to this ground here in Pune," Latham said.
Giving an update on the injuries to their key players, Latham said: "There's Lockie, Kane and Mark Chapman. We'll obviously get through hopefully a bit of work today and then we'll see how they pull up from a selection point of view. But yeah, obviously, Lockie went off in the last game with a bit of achilles' niggle, so fingers crossed he'll be fine for tomorrow."
South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen has said that they want to be a lot more clinical while chasing targets in the ongoing World Cup.
“We know we want to be a lot more clinical in a chasing situation. It's very clear to us where we went wrong and the mistakes, we made so we're not shying away from that. And it gives us confidence knowing that we still got over the line and when we do get in that position again, hopefully the decision that we make will be a lot better,” Van der Dussen said.
He also said that the South African team has been really good at shutting out all the permutations around qualification for the semi-finals in the ongoing World Cup.
Acccording to India Today, van der Dussen also said that he is not worried about South Africa's recent record against New Zealand in ODI World Cups. South Africa have failed to defeat the Kiwis in ODI World Cups since 1999 in the five matches they have played.
World Cup 2023: New Zealand vs South Africa Live Telecast Details
The NZ vs SA World Cup 2023 match will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network in India.
World Cup 2023: New Zealand vs South Africa Live Streaming Details
Disney+ Hotstar will livestream the NZ vs SA match on its app and website.
World Cup 2023: How To Watch NZ vs SA In New Zealand And South Africa?
SuperSport and its app will broadcast the match in South Africa and to the 52 Sub-Saharan Africa territories. In New Zealand, Sky Sport NZ will broadcast the match between the Kiwis and the Proteas.
New Zealand's Predicted Playing XI
Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c and wk), Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson.
South Africa's Predicted Playing XI
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi.
(with PTI inputs)