 South Africa and New Zealand will play each other in an inconsequential
group D game at Lord's after both the teams have already qualified for the Super
Eights by beating Scotland. In fact, according to the new rules of ICC, New Zealand
will be ranked as the number one team from their group and South Africa
as the second seeded team irrespective of the result of this game!
South Africa's clinical disposal of Netherlands in the previous game would
have served as a notice to the New Zealanders, as it would have to the other
teams in the competition. After piling up a 200-plus total against a hapless
Scottish bowling, the Proteas scourged through their middle order and decimated
them for less than 100, to dish out the second-biggest defeat ever in the history
of T20I cricket.
A.B.de Villiers' form in international cricket will worry the Kiwis as much
will the return of his run-scoring ways of Graeme Smith. Smith should continue
to open the inning with Jacques Kallis, who played another brilliant
hand in adding more than 80 for the first wicket at a very T20I-like run-rate.
Similarly, Dale Steyn had been dropped from the Royal Challengers Bangalore
for most of the second part of the tournament, and he will look to make amends
with his quick, out-swinging bowling in the New Zealand game.
In turn, New Zealand has been called the dark horse of the tournament, but
for them to get anywhere close to the trophy, will need a much better bowling
performance than the one against Scotland. To be fair, the Kiwis did lose out
on their best bowler in the line-up, Daniel Vettori, before the start
of the game, and a seven-over game is no platform to be strutting out one's
bowling talents either. Still, if Iain O'Brien could bowl a trifle like what
he has had in the past, it could serve the purpose; though, in James Franklin
and Jacob Oram the Kiwis have two bowlers who have 'hit me' written all
over them for a good enough batsman.
The batting is slightly more stable, with Brendon McCullum and Jesse
Ryder at the top and a hard-hitter like Ross Taylor following them. Oram's
batting has fallen apart a little, but Martin Guptill is a batsman to watch
out for in the middle-order. The only concern for the top-order is that batting
against the calibre of the likes of Steyn, Parnell and Albie Morkel will
not be as easy a piece of cake as one would have thought!
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