New Delhi: The defending champions England and South Africa will be looking to get back to the winning ways when they lock horns against each other on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
England and South Africa are both two of the favourites to win the tournament, but their records at the ICC World Cup 2023 are the exact opposite of each other on the points table, South Africa has won 2 and lost 1 match so far, and England have only managed to win 1 while has to suffer defeats in two of their 3 matches.
Journey so far
Out of the two teams, South Africa finds itself in a much more comfortable position at the moment.
After the end of match number 18, the Proteas are currently at the third spot in the points table with 4 points from 3 matches, with wins over Sri Lanka and Australia by 102 and 134 runs, respectively. However, in a shocking turn of events, they suffered a huge upset in the form of 38-run loss against the Netherlands.
England on the other hand, had a roller coaster journey so far in the tournament, as they started their campaign with a huge 9 wickets loss against last year’s and the current table toppers, New Zealand, but bounced back with a huge win of their own against Bangladesh by 137 runs, however, once again they suffered a huge and a shocking defeat by 69 runs against Afghanistan team.
Afghanistan winning moment. #AFGvsENG #ENGvsAFG pic.twitter.com/qhZQCDWczS
— Rizwan 🇮🇳 (@Rizwan18Cricket) October 15, 2023
The English team is currently at the number 6 spot in the points table, but they will have a chance to enter the top 4, if they manage to get a win over the South African team and keep the race to the top 4 wide open.
Head to head
Joe Root’s 83 Vs South Africa, Wankhede 2016 T20 WC .
The Last Time When England And South Africa Faced Each Other In Wankhede in An ICC Tournament
We Witnessed A Thriller 230 Run Chase 👀
Best Of Luck Root And Co. For Tomorrow’s Match 💙 pic.twitter.com/fEwP7lCj90— STAN R66T (@Root66Stan) October 20, 2023
If we take a look at the head-to-head record of the Proteas and the Three Lions, the Proteas have a slight edge over their English opponents.
The two teams have so far locked horns against each other 69 times in the One Day International cricket, where the Proteas have managed to secure victory in 33 matches, while England have managed to win in 30. 5 matches between the two sides ended in no contest while 1 match ended in a tie.
The story is, however, different when it comes to the World Cups, where this time, the English team has a slight edge over their opponents from South Africa. The two teams have taken the field against each other 7 times, out of which England have won 4, while South Africa registered win in 3 matches.
Bottom table fight
In the morning match of the day, the Netherlands will take on the 1996 champions Sri Lanka in Lucknow.
🟠Great day for Dutch cricket: first a win in the T10 Finals Week vs Ireland, then the awesome win in India vs South Africa and then again T10 win vs England. Read the report https://t.co/BsPBkpL5S2
Follow the matches @EuropeanCricket and https://t.co/zkl1x0JSeN#icc #kncbcricket pic.twitter.com/8lvlZtWTU8— Cricket🏏Netherlands (@KNCBcricket) October 17, 2023
On the one hand, the Dutch side will be coming in the match with a huge win against the South African side, while on the other hand, Sri Lanka will be looking to get their first win of the tournament and get some much-needed points on the points table.