Champions Trophy 2017 : India vs South Africa – India’s Predicted line up
Nov 2, 2023 at 3:43 PM
Not many around would have expected India to be so delicately placed in the group stage after the side faltered against Sri Lanka. With that stinging loss against Sri Lanka coming to the fore, India now play a virtual semi final, against a side that isn’t luckily too good at winning the knock out games – South Africa. A loss out here however, would end India’s campaign and mean the defending champions of the title would head back home.
As an opponent, South Africa will definitely be the fiercest one the men in blue will come across. With an extremely lethal bowling line up, doubled with some ferocious batting prowess, there is hardly any room for error against the Proteas. To book their berth for the first semi final, India need to win at all costs. The equation out here is pretty simple indeed. Win the match and top the group, or return home to face the backlash of a billion fans.a
There is bound to be a lot of scrutiny in that Indian camp regarding the best combination. The side made a bold move to bench the likes of Mohammad Shami and R. Ashwin for the first couple of games. While it came off in the first game, the result didn’t go India’s way in the second game.
Recent form:
It was India’s traditional woe which was highlighted in the defeat to Sri Lanka – bowling. In overcast conditions and with all pacers in some serious form, Virat Kohli’s men were expected to defend the target of 322 with ease. The lack of wickets in the middle overs however, cost India big time as the Sri Lankan batsmen blossomed against the Indian bowling. An off day, particular for Ravindra Jadeja, aided Sri Lanka’s cause as the men in blue didn’t have any real spin option. Sri Lanka eventually chased it down with 8 balls to spare.
Talking Points:
Against a non subcontinent team like South Africa, R. Ashwin walks into the playing XI. But the question is, for whom? It is evident that either of Hardik Pandya or Kedar Jadhav will make way for the off spinner. Benching Kedar could be an extremely risky move as it would thin India’s batting strength and Hardik Pandya at 6 in the batting order doesn’t reflect a lot of positivity. The move to replace Kedar with Ashwin will surely put additional burden on the top order to perform.
Umesh Yadav wasn’t clearly at his best against Sri Lanka, as he struggled to penetrate and pick wickets regularly. His lengths were a problem for the team as he was continuously on the good and shorter side, making him an easy prey. For the must win game, Mohammad Shami should be back and replace Yadav. With 87 wickets in 47 games, Shami should be India’s go to man in this particular format.
India’s Predicted XI:
1. R. Sharma 2. S. Dhawan 3. V. Kohli (c) 4. Y. Singh 5. MS Dhoni 6. K. Jadhav 7. R. Jadeja 8. R. Ashwin 9. B. Kumar 10. M. Shami 11. J. Bumrah