NO PRESSURE South Africa captain Temba Bavuma will be looking to seal their spot in the Champions Trophy semi-finals with a good performance against England.
Image: Asif Hassan / AFP
The Proteas are firmly in control of their own destiny as Group B teams fight it out for a spot in the Champions Trophy semi-finals over the next few days.
While the semi-finalists in the Group A have already been decided, with New Zealand and India already through to the knockout stage. South Africa, Australia and Afghanistan are now fighting it out on Friday and Saturday to see who will join them.
The Proteas essentially have one foot in the final following their commanding 107-run triumph over Afghanistan and their rained out fixture against Australia.
Temba Bavuma’s team tops the Group B log with three points because of an impressive net run-rate (+2.140). Australia are second on the log with three points following a win over England, who were knocked out of the tournament with defeat against Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s win over the English has set up a virtual quarter-final with Australia on Friday.
A win for Australia will see them go through to the semis along with the Proteas. However, a win for Afghanistan will see them through to the last four, while Australia will have to wait for the Proteas’ result against England.
The Proteas will go through automatically if they beat England in their match on Saturday. But there is room for failure because of their net run-rate.
The Proteas will still go through if they don’t have a catastrophic meltdown against England and suffer a heavy, heavy defeat. They just need to make sure that their run-rate is better than Australia’s if Afghanistan manages a win on Friday.
New Zealand and India play on Sunday to see who will top the group. So by Sunday night we will know who will face each other in the semi-finals.
@JohnGoliath82