Key males: A lot will rely upon prolific Kohli and swashbuckling Surya within the high-octane conflict in opposition to the Proteas.
| Picture Credit score: DEEPAK KR
As previous yellow taxis with their ‘no refusal’ signage rumbled on roads across the iconic Eden Gardens, the South Africans skilled inside a venue the place they’ve a historic join. Through the post-apartheid period, India welcomed again South Africa into the cricketing fold and on November 10, 1991, Clive Rice’s males tussled with the Males in Blue.
Kolkata showered unbridled affection upon the guests and despite the fact that South Africa misplaced that ODI, it has constructed a fantastic legacy over time. An ICC title stays elusive however within the present World Cup, after India, South Africa has been in terrific kind regardless of the loss in opposition to the Netherlands.
Sunday’s conflict between the host and Temba Bavuma’s males, is probably the largest recreation of this premier championship even when India in opposition to Pakistan had an emotional resonance in Ahmedabad.
South Africa gamers throughout a follow session forward of the ICC Males’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and South Africa.
| Picture Credit score:
DEEPAK KR
Main into this key battle, South Africa has flourished whereas batting first and defeated Sri Lanka (by 102 runs), Australia (134), England (229), Bangladesh (149) and New Zealand (190). Quinton de Kock, with a tally of 545 runs, has been in outstanding contact and Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen too have contributed whereas Heinrich Klaasen has flexed his batting muscle.
Nervy difficulty
Nonetheless, chasing has been a nervy difficulty as evident within the loss to the Netherlands and the slender one-wicket victory over Pakistan. Among the many bowlers, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada have been among the many wickets.
If the same old India angle concerned its batters in opposition to rival bowlers, the converse can be the theme now as a lot would hinge on how the tempo trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami get by way of South Africa’s batting order.
Embracing the scenario
Striding in undefeated, Rohit Sharma’s males have taken all the things of their stride. Even when Saturday morning’s news-break involving seamer Prasidh Krishna changing an injured Hardik Pandya meant that the unit’s all-round steadiness turned askew, the administration has clearly embraced the aggressive ‘six batters, 5 bowlers’ idea.
The latest conquer Sri Lanka at Mumbai, additionally ushered in easy runs from Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. With Rohit and Virat Kohli being the lead stars, India’s batting has gained heft over the previous couple of weeks. Okay.L. Rahul has appeared fantastic and Suryakumar Yadav has slotted in properly.
India coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma throughout a follow session forward of the ICC Males’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between India and South Africa.
| Picture Credit score:
DEEPAK KR
With a semifinal berth sealed, India is heading in the direction of the enterprise finish of the World Cup. It’s a stage that turned murky each in 2015 and 2019, however Rohit believes in taking one step at a time. A idea that his colleagues are equally invested in as they measurement up South Africa whereas the delicate drizzle right here over the previous couple of days is anticipated to be a mild intervention at finest.
The groups (from):
India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), Okay.L. Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (Capt.), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Quinton de Kock (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada and Lizaad Williams.
Umpires: Paul Reiffel and Kumar Dharmasena; Third umpire: Chris Brown; Match referee: Andrew Pycroft.
Match begins at 2 p.m.