Semis

South Africa's progress to this point has been smooth, well-planned, calculated and inevitable. Pakistan have got here in not the same manner - losing games, winning some, treating it all as a bit of fun..

South Africa lack nowhere and nothing. If Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith are efficient at the top, there is Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers. Even Albie Morkel, in whom there are glimpses of Zulu,. They've always had pace, but now they even have spinners..Botha and Merve more than handy in the middle overs.. The whole team is intimidating, determined to set right all their mishaps in the previous world cups, the mission pre-programmed; with seven consecutive wins in this format, they have apparently also taken the inherent unpredictability of this format out of the equation. They win even warm-up matches and the dead games because every game counts.

Pakistan are the past. They are wholly dysfunctional, but just about getting along, though unsure where they are going. They don't control their extras, they don't run the singles hard and they field as if it were still the 60s. They are least bothered about erasing the flaws because any win will be in spite of them. There are permanent mutterings of serious rifts. They may not bat, bowl or field well all the time, but sometimes, they do what can only be described as a 'Pakistan': that is, they bowl, bat or field spectacularly, briefly, to change the outcome of matches. You cannot plan or account for this as an opponent because Pakistan themselves don't plan or account for it.

The pressure on South Africa however, will be greater. They are expected to win this and anyway they will always have the whole 'chokers' tag to deal with until the day they actually lift a big trophy.

1992:: South Africa, playing England, needed 22 off 13 balls when it rained. By the time it stopped, they needed 21 off one ball..

1999:: who would forget that comical run out between Donald and Zulu.. 

2007 T20 WC: went to beat India but lost so poorly that they missed the semis due to poor NRR..

Pakistan fans should outnumber South Africans at Trent Bridge today, and Younis Khan’s team will require every last breath of support if it is to defeat the tournament's most formidable opponents. South Africa pose a severe threat to Younis’s stated dual ambitions of winning this World Cup to uplift the people of Pakistan and to honour the memory of his previous coach and mentor, Bob Woolmer..

Can Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, and Saeed Ajmal stifle South Africa as they have stifled others? This is a mighty South African team, and Pakistan will require an exceptional game in all departments to progress to Sunday's final. The senior players will need to lead the way, especially with the bat. Misbah-ul Haq and Abdul Razzaq, in particular, are capable of an unstoppable assault.

• Pakistan and South Africa have six bowlers in the top 10 wicket-takers of the tournament, though Pakistanis occupy the top two spots.
• Three of the top 10 run-scorers of the tournament are from South Africa and Pakistan, with AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis at numbers two and three.