“India is the better-balanced side,” said renowned international cricket coach, Richard Pybus, ahead of the T20 World Cup clash between South Africa and India at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
With India playing Dinesh Karthik, a specialist batter, at seven, Pybus argued that India had a stronger batting lineup compared to South Africa, who were fielding six specialist batters.
Additionally, Pybus stated, Hardik Pandya’s all-round capabilities helped provide balance to the Indian team.
Pybus expressed his concerns about South Africa’s batting frailties, particularly with respect to the captain, Temba Bavuma.
“South Africa needs to make some tough calls if they want to win this World Cup. Temba is a fantastic batter in Tests and ODIs, but in T20s, his numbers just don’t add up.”
Although much of the narrative in T20 batting revolves around a player’s power game, Pybus assigns importance to the volume of runs scored by a batter.
Citing Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan as an example, Pybus said, “Temba and Rizwan have a similar frame, but the strike rate and volume of runs need to match. Rizwan averages over 50 at a strike rate of 130. He takes it deep. Temba does not have those numbers.”
To beat India in Perth, Pybus said the Proteas management needs to make the right selections.
“South Africa needs to hit India’s B-game,” which according to Pybus, is fast bowling that prevents India’s batters from playing on the front foot.
Perth’s pitches have been known to aid fast bowling. Given that the South African bowling attack has express pace options in its arsenal, only the right team selection will determine whether the Proteas are able to use the pitch to their advantage.
Pybus explained, “The pitch is only an advantage if they go with an all-seam attack.”
South African chinaman bowler, Tabraiz Shamsi has been instrumental to South Africa’s success in white-ball cricket over the last two years, but Pybus is unsure of his effectiveness against a strong Indian batting lineup in Perth, given that he had a quiet series on spinner-friendly wickets in India last month.
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