LONDON: After losing to Pakistan in Edgbaston, South Africa find themselves in a must-win situation just like India, their opponents for Sunday’s match at the Oval. With the match being turned into a virtual quarterfinal, South Africa’s poor record in knockout stages of ICC events once again comes to the forefront. However, the team management has instructed players to approach the match against India as just another league match.
On Friday, the Proteas opted for an optional net practice, and surprisingly, their former captain Graeme Smith arrived at the scene. Smith was seen spending a lot of time with the coaching staff. Incidentally, he had done so during the 2015 World Cup match between the teams in Melbourne.
Though the likes of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Faf du Plessis preferred to have a day-off, the mood in the South Africa camp was rather relaxed. Batting coach Neil McKenzie retaliated that his side won’t go into the match with any added pressure.
“If India loses, the defending champions are out of the tournament and if it’s South Africa, then the No 1 side in the world goes out. It’s two fantastic sides at a great venue playing a quarterfinal. Both sides realise that they didn’t take advantage of the situation they were in and would like to capitalise on chances having played a lot with and against each other. But one performance doesn’t make us an average side. We have had some great performances over the last 18 months,” McKenzie said on Friday.
With India exploring the possibility of bringing in off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in place of either Ravindra Jadeja or Hardik Pandya, McKenzie believed that the familiarity of having played them in the IPL should come in handy.
“I think they (Ashwin and Jadeja) have all had good records against us especially in Test matches. But we will take confidence from the fact that we won the ODI series in India in 2015. When it comes to strategy, Ashwin against left-handers should be the preferred choice. But I think there’s quality at both ends and you need two good performances at the end of the day,” the former batsman, who holds the record for the highest ever opening partnerships in Tests with Smith said.