They know what it takes to win the 50-over World Cup, having won five of them in 12 editions, but Australia skipper Pat Cummins says they are never "weighed down" by history and will stick to basics against South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata on Thursday.
This was the first time in the history of SA cricket a senior team had reached the final of a World Cup.
The most interesting aspect of the contest is the form of batters from both sides which has been the reason of their success so far.
Australia captain Pat Cummins lavished praise on Mitchell Starc as the rangy left-arm paceman joined the 300 wickets club in style on Sunday during the first Test win over South Africa.
'We always knew we would be under pressure if the conditions went around a bit.'
Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola has said that no South African player can slip out the team hotel during away tours as done by Pakistani wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider in the midst of an ODI series against his country in Dubai earlier this week.
The statement further said that a decision on wicketkeeper batter Quinton de Kock's availability for the remaining two matches will be made in due course by CSA's medical team.
Sadeera Samarawickrama top-scored with an unbeaten 91 to power Sri Lanka to an easy five-wicket victory against the Netherlands.
Intention is to play every match, we won't be rotating bowlers unless we have to: Pat Cummins
Mumbai Indians head coach March Boucher sounded confident that the youngsters that the team invested in will perform this season.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for Sunday's match against South Africa?
The 32-year-old Starc was diagnosed with a detached tendon in the middle finger and missed the third and final Test against the Proteas at Sydney.
Australia completed victory at the Gabba in two days, batting marginally better than the Proteas on a perilous, grassy pitch that South Africa captain Dean Elgar complained was unfair to the batters. T
South Africa's Temba Bavuma struck his maiden Test century in quick time (102 off 148), and in so doing, became the first black South African to crack a Test ton.
The selectors also retained former captain and wicketkeeper, Sarfaraz Ahmed in the squad as a standby to vice-captain, Mohammad Rizwan.
4 Aussies, 3 Indians, 1 Kiwi, 3 South Africans in Harish Kotian's World Cup 2023 Dream XI.
'All the venues are high-scoring venues. So what you need is pace.' 'You really want someone to come there and control the flow of runs in the death overs, whether you are setting a target or setting a target.' 'It is going to be the fast bowlers because at how many venues have you seen spinners bowling the death overs?'
Boucher, whose last assignment with the South African team was the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia where the Proteas exited at the Super 12 stage, said the new role had come with a lot of responsibility.
'In our situation, I cannot see any player getting less money this season, but going forward I can see a situation where players might have to receive less.'
Du Plessis also put on a record seventh wicket stand against Sri Lanka of 133 with Keshav Maharaj (73), who went to his highest Test score before he was the last batsman out.
This is India's fourth ODI World Cup final.
The Proteas squad members assembled at the Feroz Shah Kotla for their optional practice session after clearing their RT PCR tests
Having decimated South Africa inside three days on a turning track in Mohali, India will again look to unleash their troika of spinners to spoil A B de Villiers's landmark 100th match when the two sides meet in the second Test, in Bangalore, on Saturday.
Despite the win the Pakistan skipper expressed disappointment at the form shown by him and opener Mohammad Rizwan, as both the batters failed to contribute.
"If you talk to all the great players out there, they say he is a great player. We'll just have to see if he bounces back in Melbourne. He is a pretty tough nut, old David. I don't think that (run drought) necessarily worries him," Erskine added.
A century from stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis lifted South Africa to a huge 142-run win over Australia and a 2-0 lead in the five-match One-day International series at The Wanderers on Sunday.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel scalped four wickets without conceding a single run as India 'A' clinched the unofficial Test series against South Africa 'A' 1-0 after an imposing innings and 81 runs victory in the second and final match in Wayanad, Kerala, on Friday.
After a dream ODI debut last month, teenaged paceman Mustafizur Rahman announced his Test arrival by claiming three wickets in four balls as Bangladesh bowled out South Africa for 248 on the opening day of the first Test in Chittagong on Tuesday.
A look at how India have fared in their World Cup opening games.
Three major upsets that highlighted this World Cup.
To combat defending champions India in Sunday's World cup match, the South African team management has brought in Gary Kirsten, Mike Hussey and Allan Donald.
'I think if we had rattled one or two more in the morning, we threw everything at them today morning and with all due respect, they batted incredibly well. Maybe at a stage, 350 was on our mind, that we were possibly looking at. But then it just seemed to get a bit slower and it was definitely not reversing as much as it was yesterday'
It was the fourth straight win in as many Tests in the World Test Championship for Virat Kohli's men, who also won 2-0 in West Indies, and India have now won 11 consecutive Test series at home.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar rejected criticism of the pitches in the ongoing Test series against South Africa, and said the blame rather lies with the Proteas batsmen, who lack 'application, technique and temperament'.
South African paceman Dale Steyn played down his rift with Australia captain Michael Clarke on Tuesday, saying their supposed feud had been "a bit silly".
Within the first 15 deliveries of the start of their innings, South Africa were reduced to 9-5 in 2.3 overs.
A left-thumb fracture became the cause of Pretorious being ruled out
Bracing up for the upcoming Test series against India, South Africa batsman Aiden Markram acknowledges that some of his teammates "might still be carrying a bit of baggage" of the 0-3 drubbing they endured in 2015 in the country.
Australia completed a six-wicket victory within two days in the first Test against South Africa on Sunday as the Proteas crumbled on a green Gabba wicket that played straight into the home bowlers' hands.
The positive result came from a second round of testing conducted ahead of the series, South Africa's first international cricket for eight months.
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