Preview: India and South Africa lock horns in the city of oranges

 

By Jamie Alter

 

India have so far been made to work hard for victories over three weak teams in Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands and tied with England, and in a sense their World Cup begins tomorrow against arguably the most polished team in the tournament.

 

South African skipper will be looking to win against India

 

By Jamie Alter

 

Nagpur: Mar 12, 2011

 

Just over a month ago, India and South Africa rounded off an ODI series that went South Africa’s way 3-2. Not a lot was read into that scoreline because the conditions were different and both sides were depleted, not least India who were without four frontline players. But now the heat is on – literally, Nagpur is reeling under 38 degree heat – and the opportunity to seal a quarter-finals berth on the line. This match is one of the most eagerly anticipated of the group stage, and does have all the makings of a cracker.

 

India have so far been made to work hard for victories over three weak teams in Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands and tied with England, and in a sense their World Cup begins tomorrow against arguably the most polished team in the tournament. South Africa’s progression won’t be hit drastically if they lose, because their last two fixtures are against Ireland and Bangladesh and those should be won comfortably. But obviously a win over India would provide ample breathing room.

 

Both teams will mull over their respective XIs having looked intently at the Nagpur surface. Although the venue has hosted three World Cup matches, the centre pitch has yet to be used and the curator expects it to break under the cruel afternoon sun. Though teams like Netherlands and Zimbabwe posted 290-plus scores and New Zealand 311 in a warm-up match, the pitches have been uneven. Australia’s fast bowlers gave New Zealand a tough time, and even Canada’s left-arm spinner Balaji Rao extracted turn and bounce against Zimbabwe.

 

South Africa have lost the services of legspinner Imran Tahir, who has been advised ten days’ rest, and there will most certainly be a recall for the vice-captain Johan Botha. MS Dhoni isn’t a big proponent of the five-bowler theory, and so in all probability India will stick with the two-seamer-two-spinner approach, though this time there is a strong chance Ravichandran Ashwin will be preferred ahead of Piyush Chawla who has failed to inspire much in three matches. Persisting with Chawla would be a big gamble. Zaheer Khan’s dominance of Graeme Smith, allied with his probing reverse swing, make him the biggest threat to South Africa. Fellow left-arm pace Ashish Nehra won a recall against Netherlands but was far from his best, and Munaf Patel could return given the conditions.

 

South Africa should have beaten England comfortably in Chennai, but once again fell prey to their own nerves. They remain a well-oiled unit, despite Tahir’s absence, and know this ground well; it was here that Dale Steyn grabbed seven wickets in an innings while Hashim Amla scored a career-best unbeaten 253 in a famous Test victory. India should have beaten England, and shouldn’t have struggled so much against Ireland and Netherlands. The stakes have been upped, and Group B’s marquee clash should provide a lot of answers as to how the two tournament heavyweights are shaping up.

 

India (Probable): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c&wk), Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla/R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra/Munaf Patel.

 

South Africa (Probable): Graeme Smith (c), Hashim Amla, Jaques Kallis, AB de Villiers (wk), JP Duminy, Morne van Wyk, Colin Ingram/Faf du Plessis, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn,  Morne Morkel.

 

Umpires: Ian Gould (England) and Simon Taufel (Australia)

 

Time: 14.30 local (09.00 GMT)

 

(Jamie Alter is a freelance cricket writer, having worked at ESPNcricinfo and All Sports Magazine. His first book, The History of World Cup Cricket, is out now)

 

Pictures © Getty Images

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