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Aware of the challenge from the in-form Indian bowlers, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said on Saturday that his batsmen will have to be at their best in Sunday’s match at the Eden Gardens. The top two teams of this World Cup will face each other for the first time in the league stage. India have won all seven matches so far while South Africa have won six with the only loss coming against the Netherlands. In the last match, India defeated Sri Lanka by 302 runs and South Africa defeated New Zealand by 190 runs.
“Our team is very excited to play at Eden Gardens,” Bavuma said at a press conference a day before the match. This ground has its own history and it will be interesting to play against India here. We are eager to test ourselves against a team like India.
He said, “India has a world-class bowling attack for Indian conditions. We will cover all our bases and ensure that there are no gaps in preparation.
The 33-year-old said, “Indian bowlers don’t bowl too many loose balls. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Mohammad Shami are all very aggressive bowlers and it is not easy to score against them with the new ball. They have to play carefully in the powerplay first.
He added, “Apart from this, spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also taken wickets in the middle overs. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep are bowling well together. Batting against these two in the middle overs will be challenging. Well, we are playing the spinners very well. But their bowling attack is better than others and we have to show our best ‘A’ game.
Bavuma, who has scored just 111 runs in five innings so far in this tournament, said when asked about his poor form, “You always want to contribute for the team. Currently the rest of the batsmen are in great form. I have played some partnerships but I want to play bigger innings. I need to keep my confidence and play good innings soon. There is still a lot of cricket left in the tournament and I am sure I will contribute soon.
Asked what the strategy would be to avoid a ‘suffocation’ against India, Bavuma quipped, “Two in-form teams playing against each other.” Even if India loses, will you use a word like suffocation? The question is who plays better on match day. There were a lot of moments of pressure in the World Cup and we have overcome them and got here. So far I have not heard a word like suffocation in this World Cup.
South Africa have been known as ‘chokers’ for losing big matches, but their performance this time around has seen the team emerge as strong contenders for the title. When asked about the team combination on the Eden pitch that is helpful for the spinners, he said, “I haven’t seen the wicket yet. Both spinners will be fielded if required. The composition of the team will be decided according to the situation.