South Africa have impressed one and all with their performances in the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup in India. They have sealed a place in the semi-final, having won six out of their seven league matches.
The Proteas are due to face the undefeated Indian team in a top of the table clash at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday (November 5).
On the eve of the game, South African captain Temba Bavuma acknowledged that his team might face a challenging test when they square off against quality Indian spinners like Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
"Kuldeep (Yadav) has bowled very well. He's been taking wickets for them in the middle, in conjunction with (Ravindra) Jadeja. So, they've been quite key within that middle phase.
"I think we've played spin quite well as a team over the last couple of years. So, it'll be a good test for us batters as to how we come up against the challenge of Yadav as well as Jadeja," Bavuma said in the pre-match presser.
Bavuma feels the South African batters will have to be at their best to counter the formidable Indian bowling attack, further strengthened by the addition of pacer Mohammad Shami.
"You respect the strength and the threats that they bring. It's obviously a world-class bowling attack in their condition. We're going to have to have our A games up come tomorrow.
"We try to cover all our bases, make sure that we're not surprised by anything, and get ourselves into a space where we can play our best cricket," he said.
The choker's tag gets associated with the Proteas side whenever it plays in ICC events, but Bavuma reckons that a loss after putting up such impressive performances should not be taken as a sign of choking.
"To choke? I don't know how to answer that. I think if we come unstuck tomorrow, I don't think it'll be a matter of choking. I doubt you would say that about India as well if they come unstuck, if they would choke.
"You got two teams who are in-form, coming up against each other and I think it's just a matter of who breaks first and who's able to, I guess, exploit that moment or that weakness.
"We'll deal with them as best as we can. But, yeah, I haven't heard that word come up as of yet in the training," he remarked.
Bavuma conceded the "noise" around the team to shed the underdogs tag has been growing with each successful outing but he highlighted the importance of staying in the present.
"From the start of the tournament, we spoke about just trying to take it game by game, staying as present as we can. I believe we've done that very well," Bavuma said.
"The noise around the team, that's grown, but I think it's for us to control our spaces within the team. But, I guess, also draw energy from the positive sentiment that's floating in and around the team.
"It's probably hard for us to keep going as the underdogs, but I think in terms of the team, everything still stays the same. We don't see ourselves any different. We'll still take it day by day, game by game."
Bavuma hinted that they might go with both spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi in Kolkata on Sunday.
"Yeah, if the wicket assists the spinners, you'll definitely see those two. If possible, I'd like to play both our front-line spinners, but we'll see how that comes about.
"We are mindful of the fact that it won't be like Delhi, where it's a quick-scoring ground. We might have to graft a lot more. You might have to hit a lot more balls on the ground," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
