THE REALITY CHECK – The Broader Perspective After their stunning loss to Ireland, shell-shocked England will look for a comeback win against South Africa. England must now win two of their final three group fixtures to reach the quarter-final stage, with the tough South Africa game up first today. England were brilliant in their run chase against India almost chasing down 339 but they lost it entirely against Ireland, their shock loss making life difficult for them tournament now.
England looked to be a fatigued unit and it seems like that they are finding it hard to perform in the Indian heat.
Their bowling looks vulnerable apart from Graeme Swann. James Anderson, their strike weapon in the Ashes series has went for a plenty without taking many wickets.
The other bowlers also look pretty one-dimensional. Against a balanced and power packed South African batting line up, England bowler have their work cut out given the good form of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla. England will have to bowl with discipline and be innovative as the pitch is going to be batting friendly. England can bring in Ravi Bopara in place of either Paul Collingwood or Michael Yardy which may render some bite to their batting.
Meanwhile, South Africans have found a capable spinner in Pakistan born Imran Tahir.
Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are always on top of their game with the new ball and their opening salvo against in-form Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen would be an interesting contest. The South Africans haven’t lost so far in the tournament but at the same time they haven’t come up against a tough opposition and they will be tested today. Although South Africans have an embarrassment of riches in terms of capable players and team balance, yet they will have to wary of England because if they get it right on their day, they will be a huge threat to any team like. If England are to do well, they will have to be more aggressive otherwise South Africans will run away with the game.
Form Guide & Conditions Slightly cloudy weather is expected in Chennai today which can aid the seamers. Once again the pitch is expected to be one with good bounce and easy for batsman which will result in a high scoring encounter. Out of the 44 games between the two sides, England have won 18 while South Africa have won 23. England won the last ODI series between the two in 2009 but South Africans are a different team now. Watch Out For Graeme Swann is a world class spinner and he will definitely give tough time to South African batsmen.
He likes it when the batsmen go at him and if the pitch is conducive to spin, he can be very dangerous. Hashim Amla is a class act. He is capable of batting through an innings and can also get the team to a good start and against an out-of-sorts England bowling, Amla can be doubly dangerous. Who Wins South Africans are the team in form and should win it. However, if England get their act right, an interesting contest is on cards.
Likely teams:
England: Strauss, Pietersen, Trott, Bell, Collingwood/Bopara, Prior (wk), Yardy, Broad, Bresnan, Swann, Anderson South Africa: Smith, Amla, Kallis, de Villiers, Duminy, du Plessis, van Wyk, Peterson/Botha, Steyn, Tahir, Morkel.
