The formidable South African team is poised to hold the upper hand against England, a side grappling with recent losses and performance woes.

While England has a historical 4-3 advantage over South Africa in 50-over World Cup matches, it’s the Proteas who have shown stronger form in this particular edition. England, despite having a dangerous squad on paper, have been largely rusty and inconsistent. Ben Stokes, their “spiritual leader,” will probably be available for the match at Wankhede.

Afghanistan caused their first upset of the World Cup, bludgeoning Jos Buttler’s team despite them having dominated a weak Bangladesh side in the tournament opener.

Despite his familiarity with the circumstances, Buttler has not left his stamp on the event thus far, with scores of 43, 20, and 9 in his first three matches.

If Buttler is a concern in the middle-order, Liam Livingstone’s returns of 20, 0, and 10 in three matches give England more headaches in the lower order. Joe Root and Dawid Malan have been the top performers with the bat for England. Root scored in the two fifties while Malan scored a century. However, they both recognise the need for the entire batting unit to step up against South Africa’s strong bowling attack. Reece Topley, with his five wickets, will play a crucial role for England with the ball. Despite Mark Wood’s pace efforts (three wickets) and Adil Rashid’s spin (four wickets), England’s bowling hasn’t been as effective as desired.

England’s most successful bowler in the 2019 edition with 20 wickets, Jofra Archer, linked up with the squad in Mumbai on Thursday but he is the only travelling reserve with no set plans to make a comeback to top-flight cricket.