KOLKATA: As winter gives way to summer, the weather is slowly changing in this part of the country. The cool air in the morning turns warm as day passes with sun beating down, raising the temperature beyond 30 degree celsius. Though it is still comfortable, especially in the shades, signs of pre-summer cannot go unnoticed. As evening settled over Eden Gardens on Tuesday and the floodlights started glowing, the temperature dipped. A few 100 metres away Hooghly was flowing majestically.
On Wednesday, heat will rise in the evening when South Africa and New Zealand meet in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup here. The African side has an advantage over their opponents. The Proteas are the only unbeaten side so far and even got the better of the Kiwis in the group stage. More importantly they seem to be a well-rounded unit and the conditions here suit them better. If they win, this will be their second consecutive final in WC.
Considered a high-scoring venue where average score is around 180, teams prefer to chase. India did that with ease against the West Indies with Sanju Samson remaining unbeaten on 97 while chasing 196. However, the aspect that can favour Aiden Markram and Co is initial help to pacers from the wicket. The fast bowlers historically have more success at the venue than spinners and South Africa pace battery comprising Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch are in form of their life.
New Zealand too have perfect foil in pacers like in-form Matt Henry, who is expected to join the team by Tuesday night and Lockie Ferguson but none of them managed to reach the double-figure mark yet even as Ngidi, Jansen and Bosch have 10 plus wickets against their respective names. It's true that Mitchell Santner and Co have played all their Super Eights matches on spin-friendly wickets in Colombo but their pacers including Jacob Duffy have to step up their game given the nature of the wicket here in Kolkata.
Even in batting column South Africa have an edge. Captain Markram is their leading scorer with 268 runs from seven innings that included three half-centuries - two of them being unbeaten with one coming against New Zealand in the group stage. Their top-order comprising Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton along with Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis and David Miller are also among runs. Most importantly, one of these batters have come good at different points of time helping the team maintain its unbeaten run.
For New Zealand, openers Tim Seifert (216 runs) and Finn Allen (189) have been a standout performer so far. Rachin Ravindra along with Glenn Phillips too have contributed for the team's cause. But the middle-order comprising Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell have yet not come to the party which could be a worrying sign for the team especially if they lose wickets early while batting first or made to chase a big total.
Besides, New Zealand have never defeated South Africa in the T20 World with the semifinal being their sixth meeting. Kiwi captain Mitchell Santner admitted that the Proteas are going to be a threat to them. "We know South Africa are going to be a threat, as they've shown. We're just going to go there and try to put some pressure on them at different stages of the game, and they're going to do the same for us. And (if) you can do those things well for a long period of time and see what happens. But South Africa are very well balanced side, as we've seen throughout the storm," Santner said during the press conference on Tuesday.
The spin-bowling all-rounder, however, said they back themselves as it's a knockout game for both the teams. "We're here now, and we back ourselves. South Africa look like a very good outfit, as they've shown and I guess they're in the same boat as us. Now it's one game in here, and it'll be the same for India and England. I guess conditions have changed a lot for us. We played them in Ahmedabad and went to Sri Lanka. And again, we're in Kolkata. We haven't been here before. We'll assess conditions tomorrow and see what it looks like. But yeah, I think at this stage, it's just a knockout game, and that's it at the end of the day, and whoever really turns up is gonna get through."