Men in Blue must believe South Africa are beatable

What should India’s approach be when they take on the most formidable team in the World Cup on Sunday? For starters, the players must believe South Africa are beatable. Self-belief is crucial. If you take the field thinking the opponents will win, they inevitably will. Yet psyching yourself into that frame of mind is still the easy part. I believe. The more difficult task for Dhoni & Co. will be to raise the performance at least a couple of notches from what brought them victory over Pakistan.

Beating the arch-rivals first up in a highpressure game was no doubt a commendable achievement. But let’s face it this is Pakistan team is mediocre and error-prone, as was reiterated in their 150 run defeat against the West Indies on Saturday. The South Africans needless to say will be far, far more daunting. They may be below Australia and India in the ICC rankings, but the record over the past couple of years is testimony to the quality of the side. It is top class, with a good mix of experience and youth, and some sensational players in AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, David Miller, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel to name only a few.

What the Indians need to replicate from their first match against, of course, is all-round consistency. Against Pakistan, both batsmen and bowlers excelled and the fielding was superb. All three departments will have to function at optimum levels to leave an impact against South Africa. It would be delusional to think that India will field better than their opponents. Ever since their return to international cricket in 1992, it is South Africa who have set the benchmark for fielding brilliance, all other countries playing ‘catch up’.

The bowlers will need every bit of help to keep the likes of Amla, du Plessis, de Villiers, Miller and Duminy in check. But if India have to keep the pressure on the South African batsmen, the fielders will have to show greater energy in the field and let no catching opportunity lapse.

The form and control shown by the Indian bowlers pace and spin against Pakistan was admirable. Touted as India’s weak link and cause for deep worry, the bowlers turned out to be reason for celebration. They were not only parsimonious, but also picked up wickets regularly to ensure against a fightback.

Unlike the Pakistanis, however, the South African batsmen are not mercurial. They have flair and flourish, but not are not of brittle temperament.

Captain de Villiers is easily the most creative batsman in the world. Yet Amla has a better strike rate than him which tells us something. And Miller is perhaps the best finisher in limited overs cricket along with Dhoni. How does one stop this line up? Go figure! The pressure on India’s bowlers and fielders will be enormous. That said, it is still the batsmen who are most likely to tilt the game in their team’s favour and playing against Steyn & Co. on a pacy MCG pitch will perhaps be their sternest test in the league phase.

Whichever way you look at it batting first or chasing down a target the Indian batsmen should be mentally prepared to score 320 or thereabouts unless South Africa have a really bad day. Beating South Africa on Sunday would certainly be a booster shot to the morale of the side and make the path to the defence of the title a little clearer.