The unbeatables, underdogs, and everything in between

After a slow-moving group stage that kicked off early October, the ICC World Cup 2023 will draw to a close in a flash this week. India's 160-run victory over the Dutch on Sunday brought to a close the group stage of the tournament, with the Men in Blue finishing unbeatable at the top of the table with 18 points and South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand joining them in the semi-finals.

The event is being played in the 50-over format, with matches stretching to nearly eight hours in a day. This format has been overshadowed in recent years by the fast-paced, and more TV-friendly Twenty20 cricket, where matches are typically resolved in almost less than three hours. However, the World Cup gives the longer game a chance in the spotlight once every four years.

Australia, South Africa and India were pencilled in for the semifinals by nearly everyone before the tournament. The fourth team turned out to be New Zealand, which beat the weaker teams and lost to the bigger ones in the group stage. Their early-round match against India ended in a four-wicket disappointment, so the Wankhede semi-final could provide a resolution.

For the unversed, Wednesday's contest would be a repeat of the 2019 knockout match where the Kane Williamson-led side had registered a narrow 21-run win over India.

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After over a month of surprising pitches, occasional rain, last minute net run rate (NRR) calculations and drama, it is time to reflect on the four teams' performances at the sport's marquee event.

Australia

Australia has been the acknowledged master of the event, producing a seemingly endless supply of top players to win four of the last five World Cups. The team relies particularly heavily on Adam Zampa, the leading spinner in a single World Cup edition. He is one of the best in the game, and was a key figure in Australia's T20 World Cup triumph in 2021.

Coming into this tournament, though, the Yellow Army seemed to be woefully out of form, and at several times during the earlier matches, especially against Afghanistan, they looked certain to lose.

On the batting side, Glenn Maxwell has been the workhorse, who only recently produced one of the most astonishing World Cup innings by smashing 201 not out off 128 balls to lead Australia past mighty Afghans.

South Africa

The Proteas have earned a reputation as a poor World Cup performer or more evidently, the ‘chokers' tag; it has been playing in the event since 1992 but hasn't made a final. The team was on the wrong side of this tournament's biggest upset, losing to the Netherlands. However, they came into this World Cup not just as favourites but as an exemplar of how cricket would be played in the future, with a phalanx of power-hitting behemoths setting mathematically improbable scores, thanks to their batting mainstay Quinton de Kock.

Two nerveless victories in must-win matches against India and the Dutch may have underlined the team's quality to an extent, but as they face arch-rivals Australia in the semifinals, they are a team that seems to have the softest of underbellies.

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India

Hosts India have been the most consistent team in the tournament, coming in with a very strong and balanced squad, and then moving on to put their adaptability on display time and again.

It has also helped that skipper Rohit Sharma arguably has the best Indian bowling attack ever at a World Cup, and the team's major weakness has been its middle order, which the top three have generally covered with their success. A bunch of injuries to key players might have derailed other sides, but India boasts so much depth they could plug in replacements without much fuss.

When one considers India's hundreds of millions of loyalists and thriving Premier League (IPL), it is not unfair to expect it to win nearly every match it plays. The team, however, has only two World Cup titles and one second place in the 11 events held thus far.

While many expect that shaky record to change this year, there could be a memorable farewell in store for the fiery Virat Kohli, who is speculated to be retiring from ODIs this year.

New Zealand

Making it to the semifinals is just what the Kiwis always do and have done. They have made it to at least the knockout stage in four of the last six tournaments, and it has been over 30 years since they have consistently failed to go past the league matches. But unlike other editions' oddly weak and deflated version that looked shaky on most occasions, this team feels like a swashbuckling playing XI that stands resolute against the opponents. This feeling was exacerbated as they finished with four losses and bounced back right on time.

Youngster Rachin Ravindra's rocklike batting has been a godsend, but the poor form of the others, especially on the bowling front, has meant no team relies on one batter as much as the Kiwis. Although they possess a proper pace attack, the Black Caps need runs on the board to make their presence felt against table-toppers India at batting-friendly Wankhede on Wednesday.