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A big blow is looming over South Africa ahead of their all-important World Cup 2023's semifinal clash against Australia on November 16. The development surfaced following South Africa's five-wicket win over Afghanistan at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on November 10, Friday.
South Africa might miss their regular skipper Temba Bavuma in the crunch semifinal as the star batter picked a hamstring injury during the final league match against Afghanistan.
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Bavuma left the field early in the first innings due to discomfort, but returned to play despite the issue. He was particularly uncomfortable while fielding, but his determination to contribute with the bat was evident. He opened the batting alongside Quinton de Kock, seeking an opportunity to spend valuable time in the middle. Despite a cautious approach, he managed to run 11 singles during his time at the crease as he ended up scoring 23 off 28 before perishing to Mujeeb Ur Rehman after stitching a 64-run partnership with de Kock for the first wicket.
However, Rassie Van der Dussen's unbeaten 76 ensured South Africa's five-wicket win over Afghanistan.
If Bavuma misses out, Aiden Markram can be seen leading the South Africa again, a role he previously held in Temba's absence during the matches against England and Bangladesh. In that case, Reeza Hendricks will open the batting in Bavuma's place, adding some uncertainty to South Africa's lineup for the crucial match against Australia. The team will closely monitor Bavuma's fitness and make strategic decisions based on his availability.
Meanwhile in the post match presentation Bavuma gave an update on his injury. He said,"My leg is sore, don't know to what extent, it's gonna have to be fine. I had that option of coming off. I wanted to be out there with the guys. Opportunity for me to spend some time out in the middle. That's what I felt was right at that moment."
On South Africa's resounding win he said,"Winning is a habit, we want to take that momentum through. We batted second and to get over the line in that manner, that's going to put a lot of confidence. Fantastic knock by Rassie who took ownership of the innings and guys batted around him. The wicket got better. We'll take the win, take the confidence and the momentum that comes with it. We'd like to be playing here again. We have a big hurdle that we have to get over first that is Australia in Kolkata."
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