ICC Champions Trophy 2017: South Africa look for mental stability against India

South Africa’s record in knockout matches is not promising

What’s the story?

Ahead of the much-anticipated India-South Africa clash in the Champions Trophy, South African team management is making sure the team is not put under undue pressure and that they treat the game as just another 50-over affair. 

Batting coach, Neil McKenzie believes that South Africa need to trust their own game plan and not worry too much about the result. However, he sounded cautious about India’s variety in the bowling attack and believes that R Ashwin and Jadeja have a lot of quality and can pose a number of questions to South Africa. 

"Both squads are blessed with a lot of variation - we are talking about Ashwin to our left-handers in the middle stages, but everybody knows what everybody can do. We know what Ashwin and Jadeja do. A lot of the guys have played with and against them in the IPL. It's not like they are coming with any mystery balls or bowlers. It's just down to preparation."

The Details

McKenzie also spoke about keeping the process exactly same and although there will be a lot of added pressure on the players owing to the fact that it will be a knockout affair, they can never allow the nerves to get to the players. 

South Africa are the number 1 ranked ODI team and the batting coach says that if the team plays according to the blueprint which they have followed for over the previous 18 months, they will be well served. 

He also spoke about India and the fact that they would be playing in front of a hostile and packed crowd will add more pressure, but they can never think about it during the game. 

In case you didn’t know...

After dropping their match against Sri Lanka, India will face off against South Africa in what will be a virtual knockout match at the Oval on Sunday, June 11. 

South Africa had won the match against Sri Lanka but were brushed aside Pakistan and owing to the aforementioned factors, the match promises to be one intriguing affair. 

What's next? 

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers will face off on Sunday and both captains will be well aware of the huge significance of the match. The team which holds the nerves on the day will be able to walk away with a win. 

Also, India could bring in R Ashwin in place of Kedar Jadhav as the record of South Africa against spinners is not entirely promising. 

Author's Take

McKenzie’s statement should not come as a surprise as South Africa’s record in knockout matches is shoddy to be fair and hence the team needs to take this match as just another game. 

Also, it would help the team to play to their potential against an Indian team which is not as confident as they were after the win against Pakistan.