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2021 ICC T20 World Cup
Twenty20 International Format
Group 1
South Africa v Australia
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Saturday, 23 October 2021
South Africa will take on Australia in their opening match in the 2021 ICC
T20 World Cup, Group 1 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in UAE on October 23.
The Proteas secured a comfortable victory over Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup warm-up match which was played at the Tolerance Oval in UAE on October 18.
Lungi Ngidi bowled the final over and he took a wicket, his second to help restrict Afghanistan to 104 for eight and give the Proteas a well-deserved 41-run victory.
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"The mood is great and it is nice to be around some positivity. I think the guys are in a good space, especially after getting out of self-quarantine for six days, anyone would be in a better space," Proteas bowler Kagiso Rabada said.
"Obviously the support from back home goes a long way and we are out here in the UAE preparing as hard as we can, and they can be guaranteed that when we do get on the field we will fight tooth and nail.
“We know that we can beat anyone on our day if we play well and apply ourselves and now it is just about taking it one step at a time into this World Cup.”
South Africa’s second warm-up match is against Pakistan at the same venue on Wednesday as part of their preparations for their clash against Australia.
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Australia's Baggy Greens claimed a three wicket win over New Zealand in their T20 World Cup opening warm-up clash which was also played at the Tolerance Oval on October 18.
Mitchell Santner (3-22) took two wickets in an over, but Australia had a mini-collapse, before Ashton Agar and Mitchell Starc (13 not out) hit back to ensure that their side needed 13 to win off the final over.
It was a rare T20 win for Australia having fallen from the top spot to seventh in the T20 rankings with just six wins from their past 21 games and they will play in another warm-up against India on Wednesday.
South Africa and Australia will meet for the 22nd time in a T20 match on October 23.
Australia have the upper hand having recorded 13 wins compared to South Africa's eight victories.
The last T20 match between the two nations was on 27 February 2020 and Australia won by 97 runs in a T20 series match played in Cape Town.
Head-to-Head (T20)
Matches - 21
South Africa - 8
Australia - 13
Draws - 0
No result: 0
T20 World Rankings
5 - South Africa
7 - Australia
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