In a high-octane clash, Virat Kohli-led side will face No.1 ranked team South Africa in a do-or-die clash of the Group B of 2017 ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval on Sunday after both teams came from a stern loss in their previous game.
As India and South Africa have played two matches which saw them lose in their second game against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively. As quality sides, they would be aiming to give their best after regrouping themselves for the virtual quarter-final.
Formidable South Africa was thrashed by Pakistan in a rain-affected game at Edgbaston by 19 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis Method which further saw the Men in Green posting 119 for 3 in 27 overs after the Proteas set the target of 220.
It’s an opportunity for both the teams to play to their strengths against each after Group B stands wide open with two points each from two games.
For India, Shikhar Dhawan, who posted a remarkable century against Sri Lanka, would be aiming to continue his rich form alongside Rohit Sharma. However, both the openers would want to accelerate at the top.
There was an only bright prospect for South Africa in the bowling department against Pakistan as Morne Morkel bowled a sensational spell while picking three wickets in his seven overs as he just conceded 18 runs. While on the batting front, it was David Miller, who posted unbeaten 75 to give his side a target to fight out for his national side.
Overview:
Team India was outclassed by rebuilding Sri Lanka in the high-scoring clash by seven wickets after the Virat Kohli-led side posted second straight 300-plus mark in the ongoing eight-nation tournament which has revealed how well the batsmen have delivered at the top.
In their very first game of the tournament, India gave a resounding performance against Pakistan both with bat and ball as they claimed a massive 124-run win over Sarfraz Ahmed-led side after restricting them for 164 for 9 in 33.4 overs.
Interestingly, having the quality batting line-up at the helm, Indian openers; Rohit Sharma and Shikar Dhawan registered a consecutive hundred-run stand which saw the flay bowlers around the park as they posted 136 against Pakistan followed by 138 runs against Sri Lanka.
However, consuming balls at the top would’ve had been a topic of discussion, Men in Blue would be aiming to rotate the strike as much as possible at the top to look for a daunting target if they happen to bat first.
India is looking to make a strong comeback while relying on their all-round performance as they would be trying hard to repeat what they did against arch-rivals Pakistan apart from their ground fielding which looked bleak in their first two games as Ravindra Jadeja was the man, who was quick on his feet in both encounters.
South Africa which struggled against Pakistan right from the start after putting 40 on the board for the first wicket as the spinners turn things in Pakistan’s favour within first 15 overs.
Moreover, Virat Kohli, who was dismissed on a nought by Nuwan Pradeep, would be looking to score and rotate the strike during the middle overs.
Tracking the Strength:
India has a strong batting department which has seen the foundation laid by openers before middle-order were among runs to add the consistency in the batting powerhouse which also saw a fine half century from experienced campaigner Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
However, they would be aiming to find the momentum against South Africa which is bolstered with quality bowling line-up.
In particular, the South African side has also availed services of quality batsmen and bowlers as the pace potent Kagiso Rabada has a crucial role to play for the Proteas with the new ball against a strong batting force to reckon.
The Proteas can boast about fierce southpaw Quinton de Kock, who has a decent record against India and man for the crisis – Hashim Amla, who has been marching through records, as both would be looking to give a decent start before Faf du Plessis and skipper AB de Villiers tackle quality Indian spinners.
As India would be vying to have ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to make things pretty difficult for South Africa which looked miserable against slow bowling at times.
Coming to the bowling front, India could again witness Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowling in tandem, in a bid to contain and collect wickets against South Africa which has a quality batting line-up at the helm in the form of AB de Villiers, who has been struggling of late, but he has a knack of making a strong comeback from time-to-time.
The 360-degree man de Villiers is going through a lean patch as he has also registered his first ever golden duck against Pakistan when he was dismissed by left-arm orthodox spinner Imad Wasim.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah could play a crucial role in the death overs considering the fact South Africa has the explosive hitters and all-rounder Hardik Pandya has to prove his credentials in a highly-anticipated clash if he gets a nod from his skipper and management to continue the game in Playing XI.
For South Africa, leg-spinner Imran Tahir has been a revelation with the ball as he would be aiming to unleash his bagful of tricks against a quality side which plays spin so well.
Match Prediction:
As the two quality teams aim to surpass each other, the best part of this contest is that both the teams have all their bases covered.
On a placid surface like The Oval, the two teams are capable of chasing down the high-scoring target.
We expect both teams would give out a close fight in the match, but India seems to have an edge as the side has registered seven ODI series wins in their last nine.
As we came to the business end of the tournament, the score at the ground from team batting first is expected around 315-330 and team batting second could emerge as victorious.
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The match number eleventh between India and South Africa of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which is being sponsored by OPPO will began in a short while from now. The winner would be heading straight to the semis while the loser would be out of the tournament.