Squads
West Indies
Dwayne Bravo(c),,Denesh Ramdin(wk),,Darren Bravo, Tino Best, Johnson Charles, Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan.
South Africa
AB de Villiers (captain), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, David Miller, Colin Ingram, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Ryan McLaren, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Rory Kleinveldt, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Farhaan Behardien.
Umpires: Steve Davis and Rod Tucker.
Third umpire: Bruce Oxenford.
Fourth Umpire: Aleem Dar.
Match Referee: Andy Pycroft.
Match starts at 3PM IST.
South Africa and West Indies will square off in a Do or Die as they look to get a place in the semis. South Africa will go in with Dale Steyn who is playing his first match in the tournament after getting ruled out due to an injury while for West Indies, Denesh Ramdin is still suspended and Jonathan Charles will be once again behind the wickets.
Statistics
Chris Gayle has scored three hundreds against South Africa, two of them in losing causes. Three of the 12 ODIs played at Sophia Gardens have been washed out – which forms a staggering 25% of the total. South Africa have been involved in two of those. West Indies have been the team that has put South Africa out of tournaments the most (On three occasions) and would be looking to do the same here.
Team Player to Watch Last 5 Matches
West Indies Chris Gayle W W W W L
South Africa AB De Villiers L W W L W
Pitch and conditions
There was persistent rain throughout Wednesday and Thursday and more showers are forecasted for match day with a window of clear weather predicted only between 2pm and 5pm. If play take place, the moisture is likely to make conditions conducive for the pacers. The ground has seen one run-fest between India and South Africa and one low-scoring scuffle between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, but both took place before the rains. So fairly fresh conditions can be expected for this match. The team winning the team will be looking to bowl first because of two reasons firstly D/L method can come into play plus the overcast conditions can help the bowling side and the slowness of the outfield due to the heavy rain. The toss will be a good thing to win for the captain as a lot will depend on the toss.
Who’s saying what
“They know if they lose, they are going back home. They have a tag of being chokers that do well in big tournaments, so that would be added pressure on them.”
Dwayne Bravo
(West Indies captain).
“They always say batting second is easier when there is a bit of weather around. I’m not too fussed about that. Whether we play a shortened game or a normal game, it’s all about focus and team intensity off the field.”
AB de Villiers
(South African captain).
Overview
The winning team will qualify for the semis knocking the other one out of the tournament. If match is abandoned due to rain or any other reason, South Africa will qualify for the semis thanks to their better net run rate. South Africa has shown some decency in their batting and bowling after knocking Pakistan out of the competition and with Dale Steyn back in the side Bowling looks a bit strong. West Indies are still struggling with their batting as none of their batsmen look to have control over the game but with players like Gayle and Pollard u never know what can happen. West Indies bowling looked a bit helpless against India as only Sunil Narine took 2 wickets and other bowlers ended the match empty-handed.
This is not a normal occasion for South Africa, this is a pressure game and that alone could scramble their minds. Even if Dale Steyn is fit and firing, their main battle will be with themselves as they try to rewrite their reputations as big-game bloopers. West Indies will fancy themselves more than usual, especially because they have been the team that have put South Africa out of tournaments the most. On three occasions, they have been responsible for South Africa taking the next flight home and their cavalier confidence has often given them the edge over a team paranoid of failure. My favorites for today’s match are certainly South Africa but West Indies can turn the table as they have done in the past. Let’s see if West Indies can do it today and knock Proteas out of the competition!!!!!!