India had two big hurdles coming into the World Cup, one was the opening match against bitter enemies Pakistan, and the other against South Africa, against whom the Indians have never won in the World Cup.
Well, the first game is out of the way, and to the overwhelming relief of over 1.3 billion Indian cricket fans all over the world, India maintained their record of never losing to Pakistan in the World Cup. It was an outstanding team effort in which everyone played their part, with the team’s best batsman Virat Kohli leading the way with a well composed hundred.
But Pakistan really are a mediocre side, which has been proven with their loss to West Indies earlier today. The real test has always been against South Africa, against their phenomenal pace bowling attack – with Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. It can’t get better than that.
Here’s what Virat Kohli said about this giant hurdle: “South Africa are one of the top sides in the world. They have a good balance of batting and bowling, and their fielding has raised standards in international cricket. To get over that hurdle tomorrow will be an immense self-belief booster for us.”
And the South African batting? Well, a bunch of match winners led by the greatest batsman in One Day International cricket, AB de Villiers. Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, David Miller and JP Duminy – all capable of winning matches on their own and providing an excellent foil to the supremely talented De Villiers.
It really is difficult to pick a weakness in the South African side, but if forced to, we consider their spin bowling option – Imran Tahir – to be the only chink in their armor. That, and the fact that they are playing with just 3 recognized pace bowlers. The fifth bowler’s duties will be taken up by JP Duminy. While he is a competent enough spin bowler, he is not exactly a specialist and can be taken apart.
A lot of Indians have travelled from India for this game, so we expect a home game like atmosphere here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
AB de Villiers is actually excited that there are going to be so many people at the MCG tomorrow. He said in an interview, “I’m pretty happy that it’s going to be packed. The last few games I played here it wasn’t full, and it almost feels wrong in a way. You almost get lost in the middle out there, it’s so big. ”
The Teams
We expect the same sides to play for both India and South Africa as in the previous matches.
India: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav
South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 JP Duminy, 7 Farhaan Behardien, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir
Match Conditions
Luckily, the weather department has made a forecast of a bright and sunny day tomorrow, so there won’t be any rain to mar the wonderful occasion. The pitch promises to be a belter for batsman and also has pace and bounce for the fast bowlers. So there’s something for everybody.
Watch India take on South Africa on this Sunday, 22nd of February, at 8:50 AM, live on Star Sports!
