South Africa and New Zealand meet at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday the first T20 World Cup Semi-Final. We take a look at the game from a betting angle.
Outright Betting Updates
India are the favourites at 2.20 to win the World Cup, ahead of South Africa 3.50, England are 5.50 with New Zealand 7.00 underdogs.
With his century against Sri Lanka, Sahibzada Farhan looks to have wrapped up the top batsman, and he is 1.08 with Aiden Markram now 8.00, his most likely rival.
Shadley van Schalkwyk from the USA is the top wicket taker, level on 13 with Muzarabani from Zimbabwe, but the market leaders are just behind them with Varun Chakravarthy 3.70 and Lungi Ngidi 4.50, both currently on 12 wickets, behind Van Schalkwyk.
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SOUTH AFRICA v NEW ZEALAND
South Africa
South Africa have a 100% record in this World Cup, topping Group D ahead of New Zealand and doing likewise in Group 1 of the Super Eights where they enjoyed 3 comfortable victories over India, the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Aiden Markram has been the top performer with the bat scoring 268 runs with the bat at 53.6 and a strike rate of 175. With the ball, Ngidi has 12 wickets at an average of 13.75 with Bosch and Jansen just behind with 11 wickets each at averages of 14.18 and 16.72 respectively.
New Zealand
The Black Caps finished runners-up behind South Africa in the initial group stages, and they were also runners-up behind England in Group 2 of the Super Eights. Their first match against Pakistan was abandoned with the points shared and they then beat Sri Lanka by 61 runs before being beaten by England by 4 wickets in an exciting match.
Tim Seifert has been their top batsman scoring 206 runs at an average of 43.2 and at a strike rate of 157 and the wickets have largely been shared around with Rachin Ravindra currently on 9 wickets at an average of 9.7.
BETTING – Click here to bet
South Africa 1.61
New Zealand 2.35
I will be shouting South Africa home, but the betting looks about right and I will rather look at some of the other markets of interest.
New Zealand Top Wicket Taker, Rachin Ravindra at 8.50
I am surprised at this price on Ravindra especially considering he is their top wicket-taker to date, and he delivered this bet for us against England. He is the sort of bowler teams try to get after and that often opens up wicket taking opportunities.
Match Top Batsman, Dewald Brevis at 8.50
Dewald has been batting well, but one criticism fans have had is that he fails to kick-on after a strong start and I am backing him to change this in the Semi-Final.
Player of the Match, Lungi Ngidi at 16.00
Ngidi has been superb in this World Cup with his change of pace, and it has seen him consistently amongst the wickets. If South Africa are to make the Final it may well be on the back of another strong Ngidi performance.
Note: All prices are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
