On Wednesday, November 1, the ICC World Cup 2023 will see its 32nd match hosted at Pune’s MCA Stadium, where heavyweights New Zealand and South Africa, both vying for a spot in the semifinals, will clash.
New Zealand, led by Tom Latham, enters the match with four wins and two losses in the ongoing tournament, while Temba Bavuma’s South Africa has a slightly better record with five wins and one defeat. New Zealand recently suffered a narrow 5-run loss to Australia in a high-scoring match in Dharamsala, while South Africa secured a hard-fought 1-wicket victory against Pakistan in Chennai on a challenging surface.
The upcoming match is expected to favor batsmen, but it’s likely to assist disciplined bowlers, particularly those with the new ball and spinners during the middle overs.
Weather-wise, New Zealand’s matches in the World Cup haven’t been interrupted, but South Africa’s game against the Netherlands in Dharamsala experienced rain delays. Fortunately, there’s no threat of rain in Pune, where most ODI matches have witnessed high-scoring encounters.
Also read: NZ vs SA, World Cup 2023: Graeme Smith Blasts Temba Bavuma’s Performance
While rain isn’t a concern, the afternoon heat could be a factor. As for the pitch conditions at the MCA Stadium:
- The stadium boasts 11 pitches prepared with black soil, but only four of these are expected to be used for the World Cup 2023 matches. Black soil wickets offer good bounce and tend to remain consistent throughout the game.
- In the first match of the World Cup at this venue, India comfortably chased the target set by Bangladesh, who struggled to post a challenging total. Indian bowlers dominated the middle and death overs.
- In the second match, Afghanistan successfully chased down a target set by Sri Lanka, with their bowlers limiting Sri Lanka to a below-par score.
- The pitch in Pune has proven to be batting-friendly, with five out of the nine previous ODI matches at the venue witnessing teams scoring over 300 runs when batting first.
- Teams chasing have had an advantage at this venue, with three out of seven innings so far seeing them surpass 300 runs. The average first innings score at the venue is 294.
Captains in the NZ vs SA match may be tempted to continue the trend of choosing to chase on these pitches that have witnessed successful chases of 300+ targets in three out of three attempts so far.