Steve Smith Picks Two Tough Opponents As Australia Look To Seal Cricket World Cup 2023 Semis Berth

Steve Smith on Monday hoped Australia are peaking at the right time given they have five wins on the trot in the Cricket World Cup 2023 and are on the cusp of joining India and South Africa as the third team in the semifinals. While India are set to finish at the top of the points table, South Africa are currently placed second having qualified for the final four. Australia can join the two teams if they win their upcoming clash against Afghanistan, to be played here on Tuesday. "You do want to be peaking at the right time in the end, but obviously you need to do enough to make the semifinals. I think that would be the beauty of it if we were able to get there," Smith told the media before Australia's training session at the Wankhede Stadium. "You know, we had a rough start, we lost two games and we have gradually, I guess, progressed as we have gone along and there are still areas we can work on," said Smith, adding that even though all-rounders Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell are back to training, it remains to be seen if they get a nod for the contest on Tuesday.

Smith said India's monumental win over what has been the second best team in the tournament, South Africa, makes the challenge even more difficult for Australia going ahead.

"Tomorrow (on Tuesday) is a big game for us. I think if we win — we qualify — if that is correct. I think you want to be peaking at the right time for sure and the two teams up top are playing really good cricket, in particular India, who beat the second team, South Africa, yesterday pretty convincingly," Smith said.

"They are going to be tough to beat — there is no doubt about that. But I think we are playing some good cricket so hopefully we can have a good day, get ourselves in there