South Africa, Australia face-off on an unknown pitch

The relaid Lucknow pitch could make life challenging for the batters in this high-profile World Cup tie on Thursday

South Africa batters cashed in on a surprisingly good pitch at Delhi to tame Sri Lanka while Australia came up short against India on a slow Chennai surface where the home spinners dominated.

The teams are 54-50 in head-to-head encounters with South Africa holding the edge. (REUTERS)

Thursday’s clash between the two will have World Cup history and recent form against each other as familiar territory though the newly laid pitch at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium will be an unknown quantity.

South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, a centurion in the opening game along with Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen, was unsure how the new pitch would behave. “I was part of Lucknow Super Giants this IPL, but I don’t know anything about the re-laid new pitches here. Hopefully, they will behave good,” he said on Wednesday.

The teams are 54-50 in head-to-head encounters with South Africa holding the edge. But in high-pressure World Cup clashes, Australia are 3-2 in their six meetings though the other tied game at Edgbaston in the 1999 semi-final proving the most painful for the Proteas, who were eliminated after being on the verge of victory. It has left them enduring the tag of “chokers”, still searching for a first title.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins said: “We aim to start afresh in the World Cup, especially after our opening defeat against India. Over the past few days, we have meticulously reviewed our strategies for the upcoming matches.”

Australia face 1996 champions Sri Lanka in their third game in Lucknow on Monday.

South Africa amassed 428 against Sri Lanka with Markram hitting the fastest Cup century, off 49 deliveries. South Africa had dazzled against Australia in the home ODI series last month, posting totals of 338, 416 and 315 in the final three games to overturn a 0-2 series scoreline into a 3-2 victory. Thursday’s match will mark the sixth ODI between the teams in just over a month, apart from the three T20Is that preceded that series.

Both teams will be aware of the controversies around the red-clay pitch in Lucknow. After struggling to chased down the total in a T20I win over New Zealand, skipper Hardik Pandya described the pitch as a “shocker”. Following this, the curator was replaced. Only four ODIs have been played on this pitch with the highest first-innings score being 253.

Cummins expected “pace and bounce” after inspecting the pitch. “The pitch and the outfield look promising. Leading Australia is always an honor, given our legacy of five World Cup wins. We have a fresh group of players this time and are determined to give our best," he said.

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis could play after a hamstring issue had kept him out of the last two games in the recent bilateral series against India and the two Cup warm-up games. Stoinis too is a Lucknow Super Giants player.