 South Africa take on England in the 21st game of the Cricket World Cup
to be played at the Chepauk in Chennai. The two teams are in different situations
in the tournament so far and it does not change the fact that both the sides will
want to win the game.
South Africa came into the World Cup with their first game against West Indies.
The South African side was clinical in their approach and managed to
spin the West Indian side out. They did that by getting in Imran Tahir for his
debut in the tournament and he took four wickets.
Click for Live Score Card of England Vs South Africa
This was followed by a second game against Netherlands. The Dutch side managed
to get going in their first game but against South Africa, they came cropper.
Again, it was Tahir who picked up three wickets in the game.
On the other hand, England have been surprisingly weird. Their first game was
against Netherlands, who managed to score 292 against them. That the English
side managed to chase down the total was thanks to some good batting all around
from the top to the end. This was followed by a solid game against India where
chasing 339 for a win, the English side managed to tie the game. This gave them
3 points from two games and with a game against Ireland to be played, it meant
that they had the chance of going to the top of the table.
Instead, England were stung hard by Ireland. Chasing more than 300 for a win,
Ireland were 111/5 and managed to get to the total thanks to some big hitting
by Kevin O'Brien. This leaves England with three points from three games - making
things difficult for them.
What this game's result will do is to bring out possibilities. If South Africa win the game, they will be left with three wins from three games
and not only would that mean that they are almost through to the quarter-final
but also that the side could top the group. On the other hand, this will mean
that the English will have three points from four games with matches against
England and West Indies to be played - clearly a scenario they wouldn't like.
Overall, the South Africans have the batting to overcome the flailing English
bowling. On the other hand, how England play the spin of Imran Tahir
will be an interesting battle of the game.
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