Flamboyant India will face an uphill task to topple a strong-nerved South Africa when the two sides meet in the semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today. Both teams have come this far in the tournament on the back of some thrilling performances, with South Africa having an edge as their nerves were tested twice, raising their self-belief, which may turn out to be the crucial factor in separating the two sides.
South Africa, often labelled chokers, advanced to the semi-final in an uncharacteristic manner as their bowlers scripted unlikely wins against New Zealand and Netherlands after the opposition batsmen were on course to overhaul them.
The new-found confidence could give them a psychological boost while tackling Mahindra Singh Dhoni’s men, who put on one dazzling performance after another in the group phase to become the ICC’s top-ranked side in Twenty20 Internationals, replacing Sri Lanka at the top on April 1.
‘We have been through some really tough situations in this World Cup and been in games that we shouldn’t have probably won, but our resilience and never say die attitude has stood us in good stead,’ South African skipper Faf du Plessis told reporters at Mirpur on Thurday.
Spinners – more precisely, leg spinners – helped both the side immensely, with Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir leading India and South Africa respectively through the group stage.
They are expected to be in the thick of the action, bailing out their skippers as they did in the past as well inspiring the other team members to deliver when the chips are down, as both teams have quality batsmen to negotiate the opposing bowling arsenals.
Despite being a spin-friendly track at the SBNS, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis remains in doubt as to whether to include Aaron Phangiso and will wait until the very last minute in order to gauge the conditions.
‘We decided that because there is a game before us [the second women’s semi-final], we will assess how the wicket is playing and if it helps spin, we will definitely look at that option,’ said Du Plessis.
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin added that the mental make-up of the spinners will be tested in the semi-final.
India won the ICC World Twenty20 trophy in the inaugural edition but had since failed to live up to that performance despite being the major promoter of the format through the Indian Premier League.
‘Pretty much all through the year we’ve been playing cricket. Most of these guys are involved in the Champions Trophy, so that’s one experience everybody can draw from,’ said Ashwin.
‘When you start a tournament off so well and you go through the big phases we like to think we are in with a good chance of peaking at the right time,’ said Ashwin.
-With New Age input
