MI Cape Town GM says Proteas batters will have to play the new ball well against Indian bowlers. Petersen suggests that a wicket-taker in the form of Lungi Ngidi should play ahead of Tabraiz Shamsi against a fiery Indian batting lineup. | ✍️ @imongamagcwabe
The Proteas play India in Perth on Sunday. It’s the clash of the current group 2 leaders, with India on top while South Africa sits comfortably at second on the group standings.
South Africa will want to beat India to avoid repercussions of a possible upset by either Pakistan or Netherlands later in the tournament. Mark Boucher’s troops down under have challenges on their hands.
Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be on the hunt with the new ball and with all the rains in Australia, they’re likely to have favourable conditions.
There’ll be pace and bounce in Perth which will assist Hardik Pandya’s raw pace, but it is the swing of Singh, Kumar and Mohammed Shami that poses a more significant threat.
“The ability to face the swinging ball upfront will be key,” Warriors Coach, Robin Petersen, told Cricket Fanatics Magazine in an exclusive interview.
“We have the batting resources to put a good score on the board if we can play that phase well.”
On the bowling front, the Proteas have depth in their squad.
In the last fixture against Bangladesh, Ngidi and Marco Jansen missed out while Shamsi got game time. But will Shamsi be the right option against good players of spin in the Indian batting lineup?
An all-pace attack is enticing in bouncy, quick decks in Australia. The prospect of having KG Rabada, Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Parnell and Jansen is exciting and also lengthens the batting lineup with the inclusion of Jansen. However, playing an XI without Keshav Maharaj is risky.
“We need wickets against that batting lineup. We need an attack with those characteristics. We need fast bowling wicket-takers,” said Petersen.
“I’d probably not play Shamsi. India fancies his bowling to be honest. Lungi will have to replace him.
“Jansen could come into the equation too if we wanted to extend the batting. He’s been playing in the warm-ups like everyone else and also played in the Indian series. I’m certain that the intensity at training is high, so he should fit right in.”
Low scores have been defended in Perth in recent times. Zimbabwe’s historic 1-run victory over Pakistan is an example.
Also, England did not have it easy chasing 113 runs against Afghanistan. In the last three games played in Perth, Australia’s 158 is the highest total.
But India will know these conditions very well having prepared in Perth prior to the start of the tournament.
“Zim defended 130 and England didn’t have their own way chasing 113 vs Afghanistan. No team has scored above 160,” concluded Petersen.
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