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| Team India is all set for their opening encounter against South Africa. |
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India vs South Africa at Southampton.
In
the last few days we have seen some one sided rendezvous where West Indies and New Zealand crashed their opponents by huge margin, whereas there has also been some
flabbergast
However, every team has played at least one match barring India who is yet to play their first game of the tournament. Team India will be taking on South Africa at the Rose
Bowl in Southampton in their opening clash of the World Cup. On
the other hand, South Africa will be coming in to this match after registering two consecutive loses in the tournament to
their name.
Weather Preview
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The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
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The weather forecast for Wednesday in Southampton looks a bit gloomy for Cricket. It rained heavily on Monday and with maximum temperature of 17 degrees, it is expected to rain on the eve of the match.
India vs South Africa Preview
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Dale Steyn is ruled out of the World Cup.
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South Africa has been hit by a string of injured players with Dale Steyn being the first visitor to the medical room, followed by Lungi Ngidi. Dale Steyn, the veteran fast bowler has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament and Ngidi too will be out from action for at least ten days, which has forced South Africa to re-consider their plans for the World Cup, admitted skipper Faf Du Plessis.
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African bowlers vs Indian Batsman
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Lungi Ngidi will be out of action for 10 days because
of injury
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South Africa, being one of the few teams who were hinging on a bowling first plan in the world cup will now have to turn up to their all rounders to fill the gaps. Du Plessis is no stranger to adversity as a skipper but even for him the first world cup assignment as a leader has started off like a beginner's guide to Murphy's law.
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Virat Kohli vs Faf
Du Plessis
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Whereas, Faf counterpart Virat Kohli, seems to be satisfied
with his team combination ahead of the opening clash.
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India’s sensational batting in big tournament.
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Kohli go to
bowlers, Bumrah and Chahal.
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The fickle English weather has left the Indian team
fretting over its bowling combination for the World Cup opener against Proteas. The Ageas Bowl pitch in Southampton is expected to
be flat as most of the pitches in England and South African batsmen's weakness against the slow bowlers
would make Kuldeep and Chahal sure starters in the lung opener.
However, a spell of rain on Monday and forecast of
cloudy weather and shower on Wednesday has brought Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the equation and the team management may thrust three specialist speedsters into action. In that case, the team will have to leave out either
Kuldeep or Chahal and also decide which all-rounder between Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar to field.
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| Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
South Africa's record against two wrist spinners during India's
last away tour was below-par with most of them unable to pick them off their
wrists.
Kohli propensity to go for the kill is precisely the
reason why he would like to prefer attacking options like 'Kul-Cha' as they are
fondly known. Whatever little layer of grass was there has been
shaved off and the pitch resembles a typical sub-continental 22 yard strip where
a lot of lateral movement is not expected.
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‘Kul-Cha’
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The grounds in England are equipped with superb drainage
system dry out quickly and unless there is persistent rain there is no
possibility of underlying moisture, which could then help the ball to jag
around even in sunny conditions.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Shami ?
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However, the other problem for Virat Kohli, will be the choice between fit-again Kedar Jadhav and Vijay Shankar. Shankar had two bad warm up games but that will count for
little considering the ability he has shown with the bat in the past.
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Fit-again Kedar Jadhav
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Moreover Kedar Jadhav's handy off-breaks along with his cheeky
batting at number 5 or 6, makes him a better choice while chasing a big score. But in case, the conditions are overcast, then Shankar could share the 5th bowler's role along with Hardik Pandya with Bumrah, Shami, Kuldeep and Chahal taking
care of the other 40 overs.
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KL Rahul will be batting at number 4 against Africa.
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With century to his name in the warm-up game against Bangladesh, KL Rahul has fixed the number 4 slot for now. He is likely to be playing in the top four, with MS Dhoni, Pandya and either of Shankar or Jadhav to follow.
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