 West Indies take on South Africa at the Oval in a Group E clash of the
Super Eights to decide who goes on the top of the group. Both the teams have already
won their first game, with South Africa getting better of England, while West
Indies shocking the Indians.
The best part about the West Indian win over India was that it came despite
not a huge enough contribution from Chris Gayle. In fact, if one were
to cast one's mind a little back, in the last league game against Sri Lanka,
Gayle was conspicuous by his absence - out due to a leg injury - and yet, the
team got very close to the Lankans. Dwayne Bravo has emerged as the player to
watch out for the West Indies, and the South Africans will do well to make necessary
plans for him.
Andre Fletcher did not have a great outing against India, but he could surprise
a lot of people with his power. Same can be said about Lendl Simmons, who did
play his part in tackling the Indian spinners and partnering Bravo in their
effort to get over the Indians. Simmons is a good medium pace bowler as well,
and without too much to go on, the South Africans will need to rely on their
own strengths rather than take the assistance of a video analyst to get better
of these West Indian youngsters!
For South Africa, it is the batting of Jacques Kallis that has taken
everyone by surprise, as has the fact that they are relying more on their spinners
to get better of their opposition. Graeme Smith's form is a little patchy, but
with every passing inning, he is spending more time at the crease and Hershelle
Gibbs' maturity is a welcome sign at number three.
There are two sides to every coin, and the fact that South Africans have been
winning games without too many contributions from J.P.Duminy and A.B.de Villiers
is both good and bad for the team. Good for obvious reasons, but the not so
good bit is the fact that the duo hasn't had a lot of time at the wicket, making
it a little difficult if the situation did arose for them.
The bowling looks to be in safe hands too, with the pace of Dale Steyn and
the steady medium pace bowling of Wayne Parnell doing a lot of damage to the
opposition. Yet, it is the surprisingly the spinners who could do most of the
damage for South Africans, with Johan Botha having already proved his
mettle in the games leading up to this and Reolf van der Merwe shining with
both, the ball and the bat! South Africa should definitely go into the game
as favourites.
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