As South Africa is aiming to keep things under control for the all-important clash against India in the ongoing 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, the Proteas batting consultant Neil McKenzie has revealed that they’ve planned and worked on the nitty-gritty for the crucial game while adding everyone is aware of the crowd factor as former Proteas batsman believes the side is prepared to shoulder the responsibility.
“Against India, a huge Indian crowd, you can’t get more pressure cooker than that, but we think we’re prepared. We’ve tried to emphasise that our blueprint is good enough to beat any side,” McKenzie was quoted as saying by ESPNcrinfo.
South Africa would be giving everything to face-off India in the virtual knockout at The Oval on Sunday (June), after losing out against unpredictable Pakistan, in the rain-affected game which they (Men in Green) eventually won by 19 runs, on the basis of Duckworth-Lewis Method, on Wednesday night at the Edgbaston.
The 41-year-old McKenzie has expressed satisfaction over the performance of his national side in the recent past while stating the pressure game came right up at the top, before the semi-final as the management has put an extra effort.
“We were hoping in a semi-final, but it has come one game early,” McKenzie asserted.
The Johannesburg-born McKenzie stated the players are high on confidence while sweating it out in the nets as the ranked number one team in ICC Rankings has claimed seven series out of last nine, in the 50-over format which further shows how well the AB de Villiers-led side has fared, in the recent past while compensating for each other.
“It’s okay to feel extra tension, but it shouldn’t be affecting your performances.,” McKenzie maintained.
Interesting, South Africa has struggled in the crunch games as they have a history of losing the script at the last minute.
However, showing the belief in the team, McKenzie believes the side has quality cricket on an offer considering the fact the Proteas are struggling against spinners and he feels pressure has to be there one way or another.
“Because there is no insurance, you can sometimes take a knockout game too seriously and put too much pressure on yourself,” McKenzie further said.
The former batsman while talking about the foundation at the top asserted it’s the plinth that has to be set early on before middle-order would anchor the innings.
Moreover, the death overs mantra is to get as many runs as possible for the team to set the decent target for their bowlers to rely on.
“Our game plan is good enough to beat any side. It’s making sure we can execute that,” McKenzie concluded.
It’s pertinent to note, McKenzie said the knowledge of Indian slow bowlers will make things easy for the South Africa while aiming to execute their plans against a complacent side like Men in Blue.
McKenzie has featured in 64 One-day Internationals in which he registered 1,688 runs at an average of 37.51. In 58 Tests, he scored 3,254 runs at an average of 37.39.