The semifinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 will get underway with hosts India taking on New Zealand in the first last four clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday. Five-time World Cup champions Australia will face South Africa in the second semifinal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Team India are the only unbeaten team in the World Cup 2023 having won all their nine games with ease. Rohit Sharma’s side thrashed Netherlands by 160 runs in their final league clash in Bengaluru on Saturday to post their ninth successive win.
New Zealand, on the other hand, were the final team to qualify for the semifinals with win over Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s loss to England confirming their entry into the knockout stage. Kane Williamson-led side had lost four matches in a row – including one to India in Dharamsala – before the win over Lanka.
South Africa were the second team to qualify, winning seven of their nine matches. An early loss to the Netherlands was a shock, and they also slipped to a heavy defeat to India after both teams had already secured qualification.
Australia bounced back from defeats to India and South Africa in their opening matches to win the remaining seven and qualify with 14 points.
Can India emulate the great Australian team of 2003 and 2007 at #CWC23? _
— ICC (@ICC) November 14, 2023
Unbeaten runs at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup _ pic.twitter.com/mRKarUKK1h
The ICC have announced on Tuesday that both the semifinal and final will have the facility of ‘Reserve Days’. The matches will begin from the same stage where they were interrupted if the games are hit by rain on the original day.
If both semifinals are washed out due to rain on both the days, then hosts India will be facing South Africa in the final on Ahmedabad on Sunday.
An overall Rs 83 crore ($10 million) pot has been announced for the tournament. The winners of the tournament will take home Rs 33 crore ($4 million), with the runners-up winning Rs 16.5 crore ($2 million). Teams will also collect Rs 33 lakh ($40,000) for every group stage win.
This means Team India have already won around Rs 29 crore for nine successive wins in the World Cup 2023.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinals will be available for live streaming for FREE on Disney+ Hotstar app on mobile devices. The livestreaming will also be available on subscription basis on Disney+ Hotstar website and app on all devices, TV and online.