ICC World Cup 2019 | Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi could have made difference, says Faf du Plessis

ICC World Cup 2019 | Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi could have made difference, says Faf du Plessis

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Faf du Plessis has stated that the presence of Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi would have enabled his side to exploit the conditions in the encounter between South Africa and India. Steyn has been ruled out for the entire tournament due to injury while Ngidi will need some days to recover.

Dale Steyn was selected in South Africa’s World Cup squad despite not being fully fit as it was expected that the veteran pacer would regain match fitness in a few days. Steyn was recovering well but a second shoulder injury has ruled him out of the tournament. Lungi Ngidi, on the other hand, had suffered a hamstring strain during the encounter against Bangladesh. He is expected to regain fitness soon but Faf du Plessis reckoned that the duo’s presence in Wednesday’s game, where South Africa selected two spinners, would have come handy. 

“Two things: The build-up to the match, the info said, a lot of runs were scored, and the make-up of our team, with the fast-bowling resources gone, we went with spin. If we had Steyn and Ngidi, we would have the chance to attack with overcast conditions,” he said at the post-match presentation ceremony, reported Cricbuzz.

Jasprit Bumrah, who picked two wickets, ripped through the South African openers in his first spell whereas Yuzvendra Chahal picked up four wickets in the middle overs. Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar too got one and two wickets respectively. The Proteas still managed to play the entire 50 overs and ended up on 227/9. Du Plessis was all praise for the Indian bowlers.

“I thought India were magnificent on a tough pitch. They bowled really well. Their bowling attack is strong - all bases covered. Fast bowlers initially and spinners who get wickets in the middle-overs. We clawed back with the bat again after the spinners bowled in the middle-overs,” he expressed.

Kagiso Rabada’s opening spell was also a treat to watch as the India openers Rohit Sharma, who scored an unbeaten century, and Shikhar Dhawan looked clueless. The latter was dismissed for eight but the Man of the Match survived despite quite a few knicks and a dropped chance. The skipper was disappointed as the luck too didn’t favour them. 

“We started well with the ball again, but some great batting by Rohit, a bit of luck, but he did what we didn't do - got a hundred, and saw the innings through,” remarked the 34-year-old.

“Rabada was an absolute champion - he was extremely unlucky, and I have never seen so many balls falling in different areas. That's how it goes when you aren't playing well. Little 50-50 things tend to go against you,” he added.

“Morris who hasn't played too much recently for us, was excellent today, bowling with pace and good control and even got 40-odd runs today. They were the two stand-out performers today - Morris and Rabada.”

The third-ranked team have now endured three back to back losses and find themselves in a precarious position. Except for the openers and JP Duminy, every batsman got good starts but squandered it completely. The skipper rued the similar mistakes his side has been making match after match.

“The change-room is hurting; the guys are a little down. But we are still fighting. We are making mistakes all the time - today the mistake was one guy not batting through the innings. That's what you need in England. You have to set a good total for your bowlers to defend, and to have so many 30s and 40s is not acceptable at a World Cup. We need six wins from six now to make it up,” Du Plessis signed off.

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