India will Take on South Africa in a D/N Encounter

This Saturday will be a feast for cricket fans especially Indian Fans because India will take on South Africa in the 29th match of the league match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.It is the most anticipated clash in group B Stage. The top two test playing nations in the world and currently in the 2nd and 3rd position in the current ICC ODI Rankings will be fighting on 12th March, 2011(Saturday) at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.The match is scheduled to start at 2:30 local time and 9:00 GMT.

Nagpur pitch is very good for batting and we may expect good carry to the Wicket Keeper therefore SA and Indian seamers will be eager to bowl on this wicket.So we expect a equal competition between Bat and Ball

India will be going on with  lot of confidence as they are the only team to remain unbeaten till now in the tournament in group B. But especially India has to work on their bowling and fielding as they are on a lower side in both the aspects compared to Proteaus. As we all know SA is a very good fielding side on the lights Ab de Villiers,JP Duminy..etc Imran Tahir, the leg-spinner for South Africa who has been one among the leading wicket takers in the tournament so far, has injured his thumb while attempting to take a return catch to dismiss England batsman Trott. As a result of this injury he might be given rest and may not be available for the big match on Saturday this is a big blow for South Africa missing their top spinner. Johan Botha may replace Tahir in he match against India. 

 Previous Results:-

India: W-W-T-W-W

Mar 9, 2011 Defeated Netherlands by 5 wickets

Mar 6, 2011 Defeated Ireland by 5 wickets

Feb 27, 2011 Tied with England

Feb 19, 2011 beat Bangladesh by 87 runs

Feb 13, 2011 beat New Zealand by 117 runs

South Africa: L-W-W-W-W

Mar 6, 2011 Lost to England by

Mar 3, 2011 Defeated Netherlands by 231 runs

Feb 24, 2011 Defeated West Indies by 7 wickets

Feb 16, 2011 Defeated Australia by 7 wickets

Feb 12, 2011 Defeated Zimbabwe by 8 wickets

Likely teams:

India: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj 

Singh, MS Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla/Ravichandran 

Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.

South Africa: Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP 

Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Morne van Wyk, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, 

Johan Botha/Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Players to Watch Out:-

Zaheer Khan has attained fame, since he returned as Version 2.0, as the bowler 

who made Graeme Smith his bunny. He had dismissed the South African captain as 

many as thrice in 4 matches in the 2007 ODI tour, as he would bowl a slew of 

off-cutters and then jag the ball sharply back into his pads, making their 

contest, in time, a no-brainer. He has been India’s most reliable striker in 

this tournament so far, and ought to play a key role at Nagpur.

Jacques Kallis batting average jumps from 45, over his career, to 65, against 

India. He is the more to be feared when encountered in Indian conditions, with a 

century and 4 fifties to his credit. One of the better players of spin in his 

team, he could instigate Harbhajan to reprise his attacking modus operandi; or, 

on the other hand, slam him out of the attack.

Surely,the match would be a very interesting one and let’s see whether it is India who will win the match and lead he points table or is it SA who will put a end to the unbeaten Indian journey in the tournament...??!!