The eyes of the nation will be on the Proteas as they take on their arch-rivals Australia on Thursday.
After 45 games of round-robin cricket over more than five weeks, 10 teams have finally been whittled down to four at the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
Now that is a lot of cricket – but it’s not over yet.
In the other semi-final, hosts India – who have topped the standings – will play fourth-placed New Zealand on Wednesday.
The Proteas and India have been impressive with the bat so far, while Australia and New Zealand have struggled at times.
South Africa have racked up four totals greater than 350 in this tournament.
So the big question is: will we see another major clash between the Proteas and the Baggy Greens?
In the 1999 World Cup semi-final at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, the match ended in a tie after a run out between Allan Donald and Lance Klusener.
There had been a miscommunication between the two – much to the horror of fans.
Australia went through to the final as they had a better run rate – playing Pakistan.
But this wasn’t the biggest clash between the two.
An epic cricket history
At the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, records were broken.
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 434 for 4 off their 50 overs, breaking the previous record of 398–5 by Sri Lanka against Kenya in 1996.
But in reply, South Africa scored 438–9, winning by one wicket with one ball to spare. The match has been called the greatest One Day International match ever played – referred to as the “438 game” in the media.
It will depend on which Proteas team shows up at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
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Quinton De Kock is currently the second highest scoring batter with 591 runs – a touch behind India’s Virat Khohli.
The Proteas also rewrote history in their opening match against Sri Lanka in Delhi in this World Cup, racking up a mammoth total of 428, the highest in the 48-year history of the tournament..
The previous highest was 417 by Australia against Afghanistan in Perth in 2015. Only five times has the 400-mark been passed at a 50-over World Cup match, with South Africa achieving it three times.
Three batters – Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram – have each scored a century this time around – another first in a Cricket World Cup.
The 16th of November will for sure see another classic semi-final.
