Virat Kohli vs Dale Steyn, AB De Villiers vs R Ashwin, former champs vs we-desperately-want-to-be-champs - the India vs South Africa semifinal of the ICC World T20 2014 promises to be a cracker.
Where to Watch Live:
Watch the highlights HERE
Get the report and results HERE
Get the final schedule, timings and venue information HERE
The game is scheduled for a 7 pm local time (6.30 pm IST, 2 pm BST, 9 am ET) start with live coverage on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports HD1 in India. The match can be watched via live streaming online in India HERE. The match can be live streamed in Pakistan HERE or HERE. The action in the US will be shown by ESPN with live streaming option HERE. Sky Sports 2 is the channel to watch live in the UK, while you can also live stream the game HERE.
To watch the match in Middle East click HERE, South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can go HERE, while Latin America viewers can do the same HERE. Viewers in Australia can catch all the action live online HERE. The match can be live streamed in Europe HERE, with the option for viewers in Canada HERE. New Zealand viewers can live stream the action HERE, while Sri Lanka viewers can do the same HERE.
India have been the best and most consistent side in this T20 World Cup, the only team to win all four of their group matches, and will deservedly go into the final four game against SA as the favourites.
The spinners have been on song throughout the tournament, with India also having the added advantage of having played all their matches at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, the venue for the semifinal as well, while South Africa will play their first match at the stadium, having featured in all their Group 1 games in Chittagong.
"We know what to expect from this ground and the pitch, but of course, when it comes down to the semifinal, it's anybody's game," India off spinner Ashwin said. "Whoever plays well on that particular day will have the advantage. But yes, we do hold an edge, having played so many games here. We know what to expect."
Of the four matches that India played in Group 2, all of which they won comfortably, two spinners have taken the man of the match awards, with the first two going to Amit Mishra, while Ashwin took home the accolade in the last two games.
That just goes to show how well the spinners have bowled for MS Dhoni, and South Africa's biggest challenge in the semifinal will be how they tackle the tweakers.
"The wicket in Dhaka is completely different to Chittagong," Proteas skipper Faf Du Plessis said. "We have played all our games there [in Chittagong] and India have played all their games here. From a conditions point of view, they are much more used to them than we are.
"We have put in some really hard practice on really abrasive surfaces, making sure that we almost over-practised against the ball that is turning too much. I think the wicket is not going to be too bad. I watched the game here recently and the wicket didn't seem too bad and didn't seem to spin that much."
South Africa tasted success against India recently, winning both the ODI and Test series at home, and Du Plessis and co. will definitely take a lot of confidence from those victories. On the other hand, India have a much better record in T20Is against South Africa, winning five of their seven.
The last time the two teams met in a T20 international, South Africa lost to India by one run, but not before knocking the Men in Blue out of the World T20 2012, which the West Indies went on to win.
There will be no such permutations and combinations this time, however, with this being a simple winner-take-all match. India, though, will have the upper hand in one department - if the match is rained out, and there is a 70 percent chance of rain on Friday, they will go through to the final, having finished top of Group 2, while South Africa were runners-up in Group 1 behind Sri Lanka.
Team news: India: Shikhar Dhawan, who has been off colour in this World T20, will hope for a return to the first XI after being left out in place of Ajinkya Rahane in the win over Australia. Mohit Sharma will most likely make way for Mohammed Shami, while Yuvraj Singh has been passed fit after suffering a leg injury during football practice.
South Africa: Aaron Phangiso will be hoping to be included in the XI, with Du Plessis, who returns to the lineup after a one-match ban, pondering over playing an extra spin option. "That decision [on an extra spinner], we will make tomorrow," Du Plessis said on Thursday. "We decided that because there is a game before us (the women's semifinal between England and South Africa), we will assess how the wicket is playing and if it helps spin, we will definitely look at that option."
Key men: India: The three spinners - Ashwin, Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja -- will obviously be the key, while India will also bank on their top three - Virat Kohli, chiefly - to give them the bulk of the runs, with Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni and Suresh Raina providing the finish.
South Africa: Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir have pulled SA out of deep dark holes a few times already in this World T20, and the duo will be expected to pick up the bulk of the wickets, while the batting onus, as always, will be on Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers.
Expected lineups: India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (capt), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Amit Mishra.
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton De Kock, Faf Du Plessis (capt), AB De Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir.
