CT 2017, Match 11, IND vs RSA: South Africa Predicted XI

We are coming towards the business end of the tournament as the action and suspense increases after every match. The two semi-finalists from Group A has been decided after the cracker of a match at Edgbaston today. England and Bangladesh have booked their place in the semi-finals. Bangladesh would clash against one of the two between India and South Africa which would be decided after today’s virtual quarterfinal at Kennington Oval, London.

India and South Africa are coming off a surprising loss despite being the favourites against the Sri Lankans and Pakistanis, which opened a Group B completely. India and South Africa were expected to walk past Pakistan and Sri Lanka before the second leg of the group stage and as it turned out, only one team out of the two would be able to progress into the semi-finals.

The last time the two sides met, India defeated South Africa at Cardiff after heroics from Dhawan. South Africa also holds an unpleasant record of losing all their matches against India in the Champions Trophy. In recent history, India lost the One-day Series held in India back in 2015. Looking at these pointers, here is the predicted XI of the South Africa against India.

Openers (Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock)

Hashim Amla has made a mark in this tournament with his century against the Sri Lankans. He has already brought his form in the IPL and the one-day series against the Englishmen into the Champions Trophy with yet another match-defining knock of 103 off 115 balls. Hashim Amla’s contribution remains crucial if the Proteas want to make a substantial total to challenge the Indian batting line up

Quinton de Kock has had a staggering record against the Indians in the past and Virat Kohli and his men would be fully wary of the South African who has hurt Indians the most in the recent times. In the nine matches he has played so far against India, de Kock has amassed as many as 667 runs and scored 5 centuries at an astounding rate of 74.11.

Middle Order (Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller)

Faf du Plessis with his expertise in the IPL would be a key member when it comes to providing consultancy to AB de Villiers in the captaincy department. Du Plessis missed out on the start against Pakistan and would be kicking himself for not contributing for the team with something substantial, following his match-defining knock against Sri Lanka.

AB de Villiers initiated a trend last time around when he came in to bat last time against the men in green. He was dismissed for a golden duck. Subsequently, Virat Kohli and Tamim Iqbal were also dismissed on a knot which told us something about the star player’s contribution in the second leg of the group stage. As expected, Virat Kohli should have set plans against his colleague from the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

David Miller was the shining star for South Africa against Pakistan as he single-handedly was responsible for taking the Protean score to a below par yet respectable total with his matured innings of 75. JP Duminy and Miller both have exchanged their fifth and sixth place of the lineup.

JP Duminy in the match against Sri Lanka made a difference of about 70 runs to the total as he scored his 38 at a quick pace and made the necessary impact during the death overs. Miller, Duminy, de Villiers, and du Plessis make one of the strongest and experienced batting lineup in the world.

All Rounder (Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell)

Chris Morris’ contribution mustn’t be taken for granted as he stitched a vital partnership with Miller and added 48 runs to the total after South African were reduced to 118-6. To be fair, the ideal place for Morris would be at number 7. The Daredevils all-rounder, along with JP Duminy, was largely responsible for posting a target of 300 runs.

Wayne Parnell has a slightly different role to that of Morris. Parnell is more of a bowling all-rounder in the team who would want to contribute more towards the wicket column along with his disciple in line and length. South Africa look the most compact side in the tournament with the presence of these two players.

Bowlers (Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir)

Kagiso Rabada showed us time and again his credentials with the bat along with his devastating pace. His contribution again with Miller played a crucial role in the first innings of the match. The priced possession for South Africa who has already taken over the reigns from Dale Steyn when it comes to express pace, Kagiso Rabada, would look to dominate against the Indians.

Morne Morkel looked a class apart in South Africa’s last outing against Pakistan. He turned the game around on its head for a while and gave a sniff at the lower order of Pakistan by picking up three crucial wickets before rains played spoilsport in the match.

Imran Tahir would be designated as the danger man from the South African bowling attack as far as India is concerned. The leg-spinner turned the match around in his side’s favour as soon as he was introduced into the attack against Sri Lanka. As a result, he was awarded the man of the match title.