South Africa (SA) vs West Indies (WI), ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Pool B match at Sydney, Preview: South Africa look to bounce back
South Africa vs West Indies ICC World Cup 2015 match at Sydney: Preview
South Africa and West Indies face off in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Pool B match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday. South Africa will enter the 19th match of the tournament as favourites due to their superiority as team. It is the West Indies however, that have the edge over the South Africans due to them being second on the Pool B standings with two strong victories, compared to South Africa’s fourth position on the table due to their victory against Zimbabwe. SCORECARD: South Africa vs West Indies ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match
South Africa head to the SCG after suffering a crushing 130-run defeat at the hands of India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on February 22. The loss not only broke the heart of many an South African fan’s heart, it also showed how much work the Proteas had to do in order to pull themselves back into the tournament. South Africa, who suffered minor scares during both the innings of their opening game against Zimbabwe at Hamilton, were flattened by their Indian counterparts in all departments. While the famed pace trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander were undone by Shikhar Dhawan, their batting department crumbled against a quality mix of pace and spin. READ: South Africa’s embarrassing defeat to India may haunt them
West Indies, on the other hand, have staged a brilliant recovery in the tournament failing to impress during their warm-ups, before getting beaten by Ireland by four wickets in their opening round. They beat Pakistan convincingly in their second match at Christchurch, bowling them out for 160 after setting a 311-run target. It was their game against Zimbabwe however, that grabbed eyeballs from all over the world as Chris Gayle returned to old destructive self by smashing the first-ever World Cup double hundred to guide his side to 372 for two, before bowling Zimbabwe out for 289. The victory gave West Indies the best net run-rate after India. Chris GayleChris Gayle misses training session ahead of South Africa game
The South Africa versus West Indies match will be dominated by the battle between Chris Gayle and Dale Steyn, arguably one of the best exponents in their respective departments. While Steyn be aim to avenge himself for the beating that he received against India, conceding 55 runs while taking wicket in 10 overs, Gayle will be at the centre of discussion in all the opposition after announcing himself to the world as the force to reckon. AB de Villiers concerned about possible suspension
The match will also be a good opportunity for Morkel and Philander to get back to form. It will also be an ideal opportunity for star batsmen Hashim Amla and skipper AB de Villiers to get back to form, with Faf du Plessis being the only batsman who made a difference whatsoever during the game against India.
The results of West Indies’ tour of South Africa, which was the last tour of both teams before the start of the ICC World Cup 2015, will have a mental impact on both sides. The Proteas flattened West Indies in both the Test (2-0) and ODI series (4-1), with the latter getting a consolation 2-0 series win in the Twenty20 International (T20I) series.
Squads:
South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rilee Rossouw, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, David Miller, Farhaan Behardien, Imran Tahir, Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Kyle Abbott, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso.
West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Marlon Samuels, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Nikita Miller, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor.
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(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)