Thursday, March 24, 2011

Preview: South Africa vs New Zealand ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 third QF match

SOUTH AFRICA and New Zealand will meet at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur in Bangladesh in the third quarter final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Both South Africa and New Zealand had never reached the final of the Cricket World Cup so far. However, Kiwis have played five times in the semi-finals.

Before the commencement of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, New Zealand was performing poorly. They have lost against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India in the sub-continent in the last eight months. However, Kiwis started their Cricket World Cup campaign with a grand style.

In the first match, New Zealand team won against Kenya by 10 wickets. In the next match against Australia, they lost by seven wickets. In the next three matches Kiwis won against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Canada by nine wickets, 110 runs and 97 runs respectively. In their last league match against Sri Lanka, New Zealand lost by 112 runs.

On the way to the quarter final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, South Africans won five matches and lost one against England in a low-scoring match. In their first match of the biggest cricketing event, defeated West Indies by seven wickets.

In the next match, South Africa registered the biggest victory of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Netherlands. Africans won that match by 231 runs. They lost to England by six runs in the next match. In its fourth, fifth and sixth match in the Cricket World Cup 2011 against India, Ireland and Bangladesh, South Africa won by three wickets, 131 runs and 206 runs respectively.

South Africans batsman AB de Villiers, who scored 318 from four matches, will come back in the next do-or-die quarter final match against New Zealand.

South Africa have won all their three matches at Shere Bangla National Stadium including the one against Bangladesh last week. However, during the ICC Cricket World Cup at this venue, three matches were very low scoring.

The winner of the third quarter final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 will play against the winner between Sri Lanka and England at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on March 29.

Here are squads of South Africa and New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk (wk).

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Hamish Bennett, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.

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