5 things to look forward to in the New Zealand-South Africa semifinal

The business end of the 2015 World Cup is here and the first semi-final of the competition sees co-hosts New Zealand taking on South Africa at Eden Park in Auckland. Both teams enter into the game after registering comfortable wins in their respective quarter-finals, but both will know that neither has ever crossed the semi-final barrier in the World Cup and have a great chance to cross that hurdle and progress through to their maiden World Cup final.It goes without saying that we have a mouth-watering game in prospect, and so let’s take a look at the 5 things that one could look forward in the match tomorrow.

#5 Can McCullum continue aggressive captaincy?

One of the key elements to New Zealands dominance in the 2015 World Cup so far has been the manner in which Brendon McCullum has led the side in this competition. The 33-year-old has kept attacking fields right throughout the innings and despite having a quality spinner in Daniel Vettori, under his disposal has opted to give go for wickets in the middle stages of the game and given his fast bowlers, the likes of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Adam Milne an extended spell to ensure that once the batting Power Play arrives in the 35thover, the opposition is on the ropes and someone like a Vettori doesnt have a lot of pressure to deal with when he comes on to bowl.

So it will be interesting to see on Tuesday, how do the South Africans tackle the threat of Boult and the rest between the 10thand the 35thover and eventually go on to either chase down a target and post a sizeable total on the board, for them to defend later on?

#4 Boult/Southee vs De Kock/Amla

Heading into the World Cup, the pair of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were touted to be the best fast bowling duo in International cricket. But the mega event has certainly brought up yet another pair of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have been outstanding for their side, particularly in the first Power Play where they have picked up wickets and put the opposition under pressure.

The duo have taken a combined tally of 34 wickets in the tournament so far, 19 off them belonging to Boult, who, along with Mitchell Starc has certainly looked the best left-arm seamer in the competition and deservingly is on top of the charts as far as the leading wicket-takers are concerned.

Southee, on the other hand, delivered one of the best performances in this World Cup so far, when he ripped the heart out of the England batting line-up in a superb spell of 7 for 33 at Wellington, that bundled the Eoin Morgan-led side for 123.

The duo will be up against the South African opening pair of Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla on Tuesday, who might not have had the best of times as a pair at the top of the order so far, but have shown in the past they have the appetite to put on big stands once they get going.

So will Southee and Boult rule over de Kock and Amla or will the South African openers deliver the goods in the crunch encounter?

#3 How will de Villiers play Vettori?

There’s no doubt that at present, AB de Villiers is the best batsman in World cricket, across the three formats of the game. One of the reasons for that is his ability to play both pace and spin with equal ease and hence he can be a captain’s nightmare, with regards to choosing which bowler could stifle him for runs and thereby keep his end quiet.

There could be one bowler, though who could ensure that he doesn't get away easily on Tuesday and that is Daniel Vettori. The 36-year-old left-arm spinner can be deceptive with his variations in pace and also has an extremely reliable arm ball at his disposal that could pose a threat to the South African captain.

So it will certainly be an interesting contest to look forward to and it could be said that the player that comes out trumps in this match-up would well have a big impact on the final outcome as well.

#2 How will McCullum play Steyn?

New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has set the tone for his side at the top of the order with his blistering innings that has given the Blackcaps the early momentum in almost every game. One of the prime examples of his belligerent batting came in the game against England at Wellington, where he smashed a 25-ball 77 to help his side chase down Englands target of 124 runs in a mere 12.2 overs.

But on Tuesday, the 33-year-old would be up against one of the best fast bowlers of the current generation Dale Steyn, and so it would be intriguing to see if McCullum looks to go after South Africas premier fast bowler from the word go or does he try to bide his time early on before unleashing his strokes on the 31-year-old paceman.

#1 Which team would choke?

The semifinal on Tuesday would be a contest between two teams whose best performance in a World Cup so far is reaching the final four. While New Zealand have made it to the semi-final on six occasions before this, the Proteas would be entering into their fourth semi-final and their first one after a gap of 8 years.

The two teams squared up against one another in a knockout encounter in the 2011 edition of the tournament as well, this time in the quarter-final stage, where the Graeme Smith led side lost 7 wickets for 51 runs after being 121 for 3 at one stage, in pursuit of the Black Caps’ total of 221 for 8 and choked out of the competition by handing a 49-run win to New Zealand and squandered yet another opportunity of winning a global event.

So, who will hold their nerve come the big day? Which team will break their jinx and proceed to play their maiden final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday? Can South Africa finally get rid of the 1999 semifinal ghosts or will New Zealand prove to be just about too good on home turf?

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Edited by Staff Editor