South Africa are clear favorites when they take on India in the World Cup game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday. It’s no secret that the Proteas are superior to India in every department of the game. However, there is something unique about this Indian team and that is the courage to challenge the best under pressure.
South Africa’s world class pacer Dale Steyn is fast and accurate, but the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane and skipper MS Dhoni are not scared of taking him on. There is absolutely no fear in this batting line-up.
Likewise, even on-field, the Indians are no pushovers. They are willing to throw themselves on the field at will and showed great intensity in the Pakistan match last Sunday. They complimented each other brilliantly in the match like the South Africans generally do.
The only major difference between the two sides is India’s bowling, which is inferior to the South Africans. Throughout the Australian tour, this department of the game has failed to make any impression. There has been scant will-power among the Indian bowlers to control things around them. Instead, it was mostly the opposition who took charge of things.
The first match of the World Cup, against Pakistan, was a breather for the team when the bowling unit showed gumption. They took wickets at regular intervals and didn’t allow the arch-rivals to build big partnerships after the Indian batsmen had made a score of 300.
This time again, the Indian team management is hopeful its bowlers will repeat their previous match performances. India would be also hoping to see their batsmen play like the ‘Super Kings’. Out of the six batsmen in the team, at least, two would have to play the support cast while one of them would have to make it big like Kohli did in the last game.
This is the simplest formula to succeed in the big match. More the merrier should six out of six batsmen click in the South Africa match. The good thing is that even the South Africans are not taking the Indians lightly. Deep down they know what this team is actually capable of doing with a captain like Dhoni, who has a trick or two up his sleeves to surprise the opponent.
Whether it’s going to be South Africa’s day or India’s, can’t be predicted now. The delicious uncertainty of the contest makes it a spectator’s delight. It’s certainly going to be a fan’s day. They get to see a fierce battle between the bat and ball when the two sides meet and India are not going to take things lying down. The attitude of the team is to counter the toughest challenges. Bring it on South Africa!
