The result of Group 1 has been decided as hosts Sri Lanka and West Indies have qualified for the semi-finals. Now they await the leaders from Group 2. Today, two matches will be played and by the end of the day the semi-final list will be complete.
In the second match of the day, India will take on South Africa. Both the teams entered the tournament as title favourites but the road has not been smooth for them. Indian team has been quite inconsistent as they struggled against minnows Afghanistan and thrashed England in the next match. However they were outplayed by the Australians but came back ever so strongly to dismantle Pakistan.
South Africa have been the biggest disappointment in this tournament so far. They started superbly dominating both their opponents in the league stage. But they have lost their rhythm in the Super Eights as they lost from a winning position against Pakistan and were far too defensive in their approach against the Australians.
If Pakistan lose to Australia, then the winner of this match will most probably advance to the semis.
Both teams have some quality players in their side, let’s have a look at some of them:
India:
Virat Kohli: There is absolutely no stopping this man. He is in incredible form and is arguably the best batsman going around. India lost the match in which he failed and that proves how important he is for the team. He is a big match player and can win India the match on his own, like he did against Pakistan. South Africa have no option other than to get him out early if they want to win.
Suresh Raina: Raina has been the best T20 batsman for India from quite a long time. The pity is that Dhoni is playing him too far down the order and he is not getting as much opportunity as he deserves. It is a big match and India surely will need a big contribution from this hard-hitting left hander.
Yuvraj Singh: Yuvraj Singh has been pretty descent with the bat, but it is his slow left-armers that is making a big impact. He toyed with the English batsmen, picked the only Australian wicket that fell and then removed two of the most dangerous Pakistan batsmen in Jamshed and Kamran Akmal.
R Ashwin: He has been the best Indian spinner from quite some time now. He has earned his place in the side and was unstoppable against Pakistan in the last match. He bowls in tough situations and delivers almost all the time. Dhoni will be hoping that his most trusted man will rise up to the occasion once again.
South Africa:
Hashim Amla: South Africa wins almost all the time when Amla scores. Like Kohli, Amla too is going through a dream phase. He will open the batting and can punish the bowlers with his skillful batting. The Proteas will be hoping that Amla will fire in this match.
AB de Villiers: It is a big match and South Africa will need their biggest player to make a solid contribution. Against Australia, de Villiers had a pretty bad outing, both with the bat and in the field as a captain. He is a great player and it is time that he leads his team from the front.
Dale Steyn: He like always has been good. Against Australia he looked very dangerous and was troubling Watson before his captain took him out of the attack. Steyn is a world class performer and can trouble the best. South Africa will need Steyn to be at his best against the formidable Indian top order.
Morne Morkel: He troubled almost all the batsmen in IPL and he will be quite confident going against the Indians. Morkel can produce some steep bounce and will definitely trouble the Indians if he bowls at a right length.
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By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News Network