World Cup 2023: India take on South Africa in top-of-the-table clash - Preview and result prediction

Right then, one month into the World Cup campaign and only two teams have made it out of the league stage so far - India and South Africa. Imposing themselves in the seven-odd games they each have played, the two teams will be locking horns on Sunday (Nov 5) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata to earn the bragging rights of finishing on top of the points table.

India come into the match as the only unbeaten side of the tournament while South Africa only have an aberration of a defeat against the Netherlands on their otherwise, glowing CV. While India have played an all-round game through the World Cup, South Africa have majorly relied on outmuscling the opponents in the first half of the game by batting first and putting mountainous targets.

That's not to say the bowling had underfired for the Proteas. Marco Jansen has been breathing fire in the powerplay overs while Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Keshav Maharaj have provided adequate help in the middle overs.

As for the 2011 World Cup champions,with Hardik Pandya out of the tournament, they will be forced to revert to their six-batters and five-bowlers formula, which, up until now, has served them well. The batting will rely on captain Rohit Sharma to provide the early impetus with Virat Kohli aiming to go big on what would be his 35th birthday.

Result prediction:

Predicting a top-of-the-table clash is never an easy proposition but given the way the Indian side has gone about its business in the tournament so far, it wouldn't be a wild call to assume that the hosts have the advantage.

What did the teams say?

Quizzed about the lack of a sixth bowling option on the eve of the match, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid had a tongue-in-cheek reply, suggesting that Virat Kohli will be up to roll his arms if the situation demands.

"Yes, we don't have the sixth bowling optionbut we have a wrong-footed inswinger menace whom we can back for a few overs," said Dravid.

"He was close to bowling in the last game with the crowd pushing him todo so. The response of the team and the players hasbeen really good," he added.

South African captain Temba Bavuma said:"Playing at Eden Gardens is an occasion, but it does become another game of cricket."

Predicted playing XIs:

India: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

South Africa:Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi