India begin their bid for a third World Cup win against South Africa – and come into the tournament with a realistic hope of claiming the trophy.
The same cannot be said for the Proteas, whose insipid performance against Bangladesh has left them well behind the eight ball as the first side to lose two matches.
Wednesday, 5 June 2019
South Africa v India
Rose Bowl, Southampton | 11:30
To Win
South Africa 7/4
Tie 40/1
India 47/100
South Africa
Not content with the litany of issues they have experienced heading into the World Cup, the Proteas greatest strength – their bowling – abandoned them against Bangladesh. The early injury to Lungi Ngidi played a role, but barring isolated spells, none of the bowlers found the right line and length on a surface they had already played on.
With Ngidi ruled out of the encounter with India, Dale Steyn will likely to be rushed back into the starting XI. The Proteas could certainly use his experience, but their chief problems are within the batting unit.
Bowled out in two successive chases, it appears the Proteas are ill-equipped to handle any sort of pressure. Every batsman in the top six made a start against Bangladesh, but none were able to carry the innings through to its conclusion – or at least make it to three figures. Faf du Plessis will need to rethink his decisions at toss time, having elected to field twice and twice coming up short.
The Proteas have used 14 of their 15 squad members, with only Tabraiz Shamsi yet to play a World Cup game. The Rose bowl is unlikely to offer enough assistance to spinners for the Proteas to play two tweakers, so Shamsi will likely have to wait to make his first World Cup appearance.
India
India are the last team to get their World Cup underway – and the third side to open their tournament against South Africa. Virat Kohli’s men will want to ensure that they make it three defeats in a row for du Plessis’ wayward charges.
Led by Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India possess perhaps the best all-terrain bowling attack in the world right now. Up front they have pace and swing coupled with deadly accuracy, while they boss the middle overs with the world-class wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. The return to fitness of Hardik Pandya is a huge bonus for India as he is capable of winning matches with the bat and ball.
India’s only real conundrum has been finding a reliable number four. Three men will vie for the spot. Reserve opener Lokesh Rahul will want to nail down a place in the middle-order to ensure some game time, but faces competition from all-rounder Vijay Shankar and back-up ‘keeper Dinesh Karthik. Rahul is arguably the better batsman, but there are still some questions about his temperament. Karthik has won matches in white-ball cricket for India recently, while Shankar provides an extra seam-bowling option.
The top three is just about set in stone for India. If fit, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan andKohli will front the batting effort. All three are capable of batting right through an innings and destroying opponents.
Verdict: India 47/100
Written by Jonhenry Wilson
