While both teams still had one round left to play in the World Cup, cricket lovers were already looking forward to Sunday, when India take on South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The tournament’s two most impressive sides – India with their all-round strength and South Africa with their power-hitting – were at the top of the league table after six rounds. South Africa had played a game more, while India were set to play Sri Lanka yesterday.
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes the match in Kolkata will be memorable for the players. He knows what it is to play India in India, having been captain when they faced India at Nagpur in the 2011 World Cup.
“India have been incredible in this tournament,” he said. “I haven’t played India at Eden Gardens but the pitch, vibe and atmosphere are incredible. It’s going to be an occasion to remember for this South African team.”
Except for a blip against the Netherlands, South Africa have blown away their opponents, pulling off a nerve-wracking chase over Pakistan and a commanding win over New Zealand, who are fourth on the table.
Meanwhile, India have been sensational with an all-win record, up to their match against Sri Lanka yesterday.
Smith feels India’s players have handled the pressure of expectations very well. “Everyone expected India to do well and I think they have handled the expectations of handling a home World Cup really well,” he said.
“Also, that Virat Kohli (355 runs at 88.50 after six matches) and Rohit Sharma (398 runs at 66.33 after six matches) have had big tournaments is important to them.”
While the top batters have come to the party for India, Smith was also bowled over by the home team’s bowling performance in Lucknow against England on Sunday.
India’s batting didn’t really click, and they were left to defend a below par 229. But Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami bowled searing opening spells to prise open the game for India by reducing the defending champions to 39-4.
“The injury to Hardik Pandya messes with the balance but the bowling is a standout,” said Smith. “Lots of attacking weapons, they have three seamers who can take wickets.
“Bumrah is back to his best. The two spinners have been outstanding. It’s been a batter-dominated tournament with lots of high scores, but India have had five bowlers who can pick wickets at any time, which is an asset to control teams.”
All-rounder Pandya is expected to sit out against South Africa, as he continues to recover from an ankle injury he suffered against Bangladesh.
Rohit’s captaincy has been spot-on and the knock of 87 off 101 balls on a difficult pitch was a masterpiece.
“Rohit’s been excellent. He’s been batting at his best,” said Smith. “He’s a very calm guy with a relaxed demeanour. His tactical decision-making has been very good.”
Shreyas Iyer’s game against the short ball remains a cause of concern. Against England, he picked the wrong length to pull and was caught at mind-on.
“It’s been going on with Shreyas for a while,” said Smith. “It’s also slightly technical. I am sure they are working on it in the nets.”
The only conundrum India face is around their team combination. With Pandya injured, they have included Suryakumar Yadav and Shami in their XI, with both players delivering crucial contributions.
While Shami has picked nine wickets in two games, Surya made up for his run out against New Zealand with a crucial 49 against England.
Surya’s rise at No. 6 will make the equation trickier once Hardik is back. Who goes out once he returns? Well, on current form it looks like the axe could fall on Iyer. With scores of 0, 25, 53, 19, 33 and 4, Iyer has 134 runs at 33.5 while batting at No. 4.
South Africa held their nerve to scrape past Pakistan by one wicket, but they will need to do more to show they can handle the pressure.
“The funny thing about the World Cup is, they came in with no expectation but have exceeded expectation, playing so well,” said Smith. “The game against Pakistan on a slow surface in Chennai was a good one for them to win. I don’t see why batting first or second, that batting line-up can’t do well. I wouldn’t think too much about it.”
Batsman Rassie van der Dussen, who made 133 against New Zealand on Wednesday, his second hundred of the tournament, made no attempt to downplay the extent of the challenge confronting them on Sunday.
“Playing India in India is a massive event,” the 34-year-old said. “They’ve been playing really well. They’ve got all bases covered, a brilliant bowling attack and obviously the batting as well.
“But we’ll go into that game knowing that if we do the things well that we want to do, we’ll be in a really strong position. The challenge is to do that under pressure, to stay with that.
“But we’ve played them here before, and we’ve beaten them here (in India) before. So even though it’s a World Cup, it’s not really too much different.”
Indo-Asian News Service, AFP
