NZ and SA look ahead to Super Eights in low-pressure contest

Wednesday afternoon's all-time classic in Ahmedabad was a game of inches. A couple of inches this way or that, and Saturday night's game, at the same venue, could have had a whole lot more riding on it.

But as things stand, New Zealand and South Africa look set for safe passage out of Group D and into the Super Eights, leaving Afghanistan bemoaning fate and small margins, and praying for miracles from UAE and Canada - or is probably unlikely to cut it.

There's no mystery about which of the Super Eights groups New Zealand and South Africa will end up in either. Pre-tournament seedings already decided that.

So this game, which could have been one of the tastiest clashes of the tournament, pitting two title contenders and featuring several tactical sub-plots, doesn't really have much riding on it at all.

It could still turn out to be one of the games of the tournament, of course, because that can happen when you put two T20 teams of elite power and skill on the field together. But the title of this section, big picture? There isn't much of it at all.

New Zealand: WWLWL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
South Africa: WWLWW

He is one of South Africa's greatest cricketers of all time, but is Kagiso Rabada under some pressure to hold his place in their first XI in T20Is? He has the pace and skills to operate in any phase, but he has had an indifferent time in T20Is of late. Rabada averages 34.55 with the ball since 2025, with an economy rate of 9.82. But in his defence, he has only played nine T20Is in this time, thanks to injury and workload management. The chaotic 20th over against Afghanistan, during which Rabada overstepped twice, shouldn't put his spot in danger. But he'll want to pick himself up and remind the world of the impact he can make at his best.

Rachin Ravindra looks like he could be the archetypal modern-day T20 No. 3, but his international record in the format is… not good, with a strike rate of 135.19, an average of 19.09, and just three half-centuries in 40 innings. All that doesn't take away from Ravindra's potential - which he has shown in flashes in recent weeks, in a pair of cameos against India - and he could make a big difference on Saturday if he and his fellow left-handers in New Zealand's line-up could get stuck into Keshav Maharaj's left-arm spin.

New Zealand played the same XI against both Afghanistan and UAE, and they seem unlikely to make any changes unless a used pitch prompts them to pick an extra spinner in Ish Sodhi.

New Zealand (probable): 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 James Neesham, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Jacob Duffy

South Africa replaced seam-bowling allrounder Corbin Bosch with spin-bowling allrounder George Linde when they played Afghanistan. They might, however, worry about having two left-arm fingerspinners in Linde and Maharaj against a New Zealand side with four left-hand batters in their likely top eight. Bosch, therefore, could come back in.

South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Ryan Rickelton, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch/George Linde, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Lungi Ngidi

The same red-soil pitch that hosted the Afghanistan-South Africa epic will be used for this game. It was perhaps the ideal T20 pitch: flat, but with just enough in it for good fast and spin bowling to hold their own. It should play similarly on Saturday, though the toss could become more influential with this being a night game. A clear day is forecast, with an afternoon high of 33 degrees Celsius giving way to evening temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s.

"You always want to play the best sides, and we've grown up with it [the SA-NZ rivalry]. With rugby and cricket, it's always those games you want to be a part of. So it's always exciting to come and play South Africa, and nothing changes in a World Cup. They're always going to be strong in all areas as well, so that's just a challenge we look forward to."
New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry

"First and foremost, discipline. Not just from the no-ball or anything like that, but 22 extras, I think it's been now in two games. It's a lot of runs in this format, 11 a game on average. It can add up to a lot and can hurt you a lot in the future as well, so that's probably first and foremost where a lot of the chats have been."
South Africa captain Aiden Markram on the improvement he wants from his team