New Zealand and South Africa will both be seeking a first World Cup semi-final victory when they meet in Auckland on Tuesday as co-hosts Australia get ready for their last four clash with defending champions India.
Between them, New Zealand and South Africa have appeared in nine semi-finals without reaching a World Cup final.
But they both have a chance to put that unwanted record behind them at Auckland's Eden Park.
New Zealand go into the match with Martin Guptill in fine form after his stunning World Cup-record 237 not out against the West Indies in a comfortable quarter-final win in Wellington last weekend.
The opener has scored 57, 105 and 237 not out in his last three innings.
"He's been a huge player for us in this tournament and I'd suggest he's probably not quite done yet," said New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum.
However, the opener's record against South Africa is relatively poor with a total of 115 runs scored in 11 matches and five of his last six innings against the Proteas producing single-figure scores.
New Zealand were forced to hastily rearrange their squad Monday after fast bowler Adam Milne was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a heel injury and replaced by Matt Henry.
But McCullum said they remained confident without their express bowler, given New Zealand have alternative seamers in Mitchell McClenaghan and veteran Kyle Mills, as well as Henry, to call upon.
"The way we dealt with the expectations of the last game and the pressure which that had in itself, that should hold us in reasonable stead," said the skipper.
"I expect the team that is able to handle the crunch situations the best will come out on top."
South Africa went some way to ridding themselves of the unwanted tag of 'chokers' with a nine-wicket thrashing of Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals.
"I feel the team is in a really good space at a really good time. We have a lot of reason to be confident," said South Africa captain AB de Villiers.
"We know if we play a good game of cricket, we will come out on top."
- SCG turns 'Indian' -
Thursday's second semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground threatens to be more of an 'away' match than a home game for Australia, with 70 percent of a sold-out 42,000 ticket allocation taken up by India fans.
If the pitch suits spinners, as has been the case at the SCG, India -- with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in their side -- will feel that conditions are very familiar.
But the SCG has also provided tracks with plenty of pace and bounce, leading Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell to say: "Hopefully we get a fast one. It has been a pretty good wicket this year and hopefully there is a bit of grass there as well."
In the build-up to the World Cup, India endured a wretched tour of Australia where they failed to win a Test or a match in the triangular one-day series also featuring England.
"They haven't won a game against us all summer, hopefully we can make the most of that," said Maxwell.
Recent Australia-India matches have produced plenty of verbal fireworks.
However, volatile Australia opener David Warner, censured during both the Test and one-day series, will need to be especially careful on Thursday as a third breach of the International Cricket Council's code of conduct could see him banned from the March 29 final in Melbourne.
Source: AFP