Super Sixes SRL | South Africa vs India - Statistical Preview
India's Virat Kohli with South Africa's Quinton de Kock
|Getty
India’s struggling form has been somewhat resurrected in the last three rounds - with two wins in three games - while South Africa have been in red-hot form with four straight wins. While the Proteas would be looking to extend their winning run, India would desperately need a win to stay alive.
Form guide
India – L-W-W-L-L-L-L
India’s form in the SRL has been starkly contrasting to what they have done in the international scene. They started the tournament with four straight-losses, struggling to find any sort of momentum and pace in the competition. However, after that dreadful start, they have picked themselves up with a couple of wins on the road, against Australia and New Zealand, in what were tense finishes to a game. They hit rock-bottom yet again with a loss against England and desperately need to win against South Africa if they have to keep themselves in the hunt for a spot in the next round of the six-team competition.
South Africa – W-W-W-W-L-L
While India have struggled to gain momentum thanks to frequent losses, the same cannot be said about this South African side. After losing to England and Pakistan in the opening round, they have bounced back in mighty fashion with a winning streak of four games - against India, New Zealand, Australia and England. A win against India will all but seal their place in the semi-final as the other teams, too, battle for a spot in the next round.
Key Batsmen
KL Rahul
There are only a few things that are pleasing to the eye - like ice cream in summers and KL Rahul’s batting in SRL. The way he’s batted thus far, you can easily call him the best in the tournament. All this despite his team having evidently struggled throughout the tournament. While he had a slow start in the competition, with scores of 22 and 16, he regained his form in the third encounter with a classy 85 and did not stop after that. In the very next game, he was at his elegant best as he scored a masterful 40. Thus far in this competition, he’s scored 336 runs, just five behind QDK, at an average of 48, at the top of the order alongside Rohit Sharma. Despite India’s struggling form, it has been worth every penny to watch the right-hander go berserk in this SRL.
Quinton de Kock
Talk about leading from the front, you would associate several names in World cricket but in SRL, there is only one - Quinton de Kock. ‘Quinton’-essentially, he has stood from the front for the side during the tough times with his batting performances. In just the opener against England, he casually scored 124 runs before mustering another half-century against Pakistan. While most of the time, the rest of the South African batting line-up has looked rather weak, he’s up there punching beyond the standards, scoring heavyweight runs for the side. In just six games in the tournament, he has scored 341 runs at an average of 56.83, which is exceptionally good. And with South Africa almost having one foot on the next stage, they would be hopeful that their skipper would kick-off things just like he always does.
Key Bowlers
Imran Tahir
The 41-year-old spinner is arguably one of the best spinners around in the world alongside India’s Yuzvendra Chahal and Australia’s Adam Zampa and thus far this tournament, he has not disappointed. Tahir’s form in the SRL has been out of the world, with him picking wickets left-right and centre, despite some close competition from compatriot Dale Steyn. While we all expected Steyn to be at the top of the bowling charts for the team, it was the wily old-horse that has taken his place at the top. In this tournament thus far, he has foxed batsmen eight times in contrast to Steyn’s 6 wickets in the competition. On top of that, the last time when the two sides faced each other, it was Tahir’s display that took South Africa over the line against India. This time around, things aren’t too different as the Proteas would be banking on the miserly customer to deliver the goods once again.
Jasprit Bumrah
There’s a reason why Jasprit Bumrah is called ‘Boom-Boom,’ - a lot of credit goes to his quirky action and his wicket-taking ability. Not only has he lit up the tournament up with his wicket-taking ability but he’s done so when the rest of the bowling unit has been listless and soulless. Alongside fellow pacer Navdeep Saini, the duo have become a force to reckon with in the SRL. In particular, in the game against Australia, where India desperately needed a victory, it was the right-arm pacer’s inspiring opening spell which led the Men in Blue to a victory and put their progress back on the right track. He’s picked up eight wickets and is surely one of the key bowlers to look forward to in the encounter against South Africa.
When to watch: April 29, 2019, 5.30 PM
Where to watch: SportsCafe and Sportsbet.io
Will India reclaim their momentum or will be long lost in the loop of sorrow? To get all the live updates, follow SportsCafe. Meanwhile, Sportsbet.io will provide live odds on the game to bet on.
Predicted XIs
India
Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa
Quinton de Kock (wk) (c), Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Henrich Klaasen, David Miller, Dwayne Pretorious, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir
