ICC World T20 2016: South Africa vs England - 5 key battles
CaptionTwo teams, that have seen enough of each other over the past three months, England and South Africa, would be face-to-face once again in a Group A match of the ICC World T20 set to take place at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on March 18.Also read: South Africa vs England, T20 World Cup 2016: Where to watch live, LIVE Score Updates/ Scorecard, Ball by Ball Commentary and moreWhile this will be South Africa’s first game of the World T20, England would be playing their second, after being blown away by Chris Gayle in their first game against West Indies on March 16 at the same venue.There would be no respite for the English players, however, as they would be facing a stern challenge from a side that has some T20 specialists in AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, and David Miller.South Africa also have genuine all-rounders in David Wiese and Chris Morris who are capable of doing the damage, both with the bat, as well as, with the ball.England, on the other hand, didn’t bat badly in their last game, to be honest. It was just that they couldn’t get Gayle’s wicket upfront, and gave away too many extras in terms of wides.Joe Root top scored with 49, while Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales, and Ben Stokes played short cameos.Their bowling gave them away in the end, as neither the pacers- in David Willey, Reece Topley, and Chris Jordan- nor the spinners- in Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali- could withstand the onslaught by the West Indian batsmen, in particular, Gayle.As far as the next match is concerned, here we have a look at 5 key battles that might define the course of the all-important league game.
#1 Dale Steyn vs Joe Root
Dale Steyn has been troubled by injuries for the better part of the last 4 months
The match-defining battle for any cricket match generally takes place between one side’s prime batsman and the other’s prime bowler. In this case, those men are Joe Root, arguably England’s best batsman across formats, and the South African seasoned veteran Dale Steyn.
Root, who is more than capable of effectively tackling both pace and spin was one of the bright stars for England in their opening match against West Indies with his knock of 49.
Steyn, on the other hand, has been raring to go, after a prolonged tryst with injuries that kept out of action for a period greater than four months. Steyn missed 3 of the 4 Tests against India and England, as well as the limited-overs series against England.
He returned to action in the 3-match T20I series against Australia at home, which the hosts lost 1-2. With much to prove and to get back into the groove of fast bowling once again, in what seems to be the twilight of his career, Steyn would look to come out all guns blazing against England’s best batsman.