Ireland ready to take on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 in ICC World Cup 2011
Ireland will be eying yet another upset in the ICC World Cup 2011 when they go up against the mighty South African team at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, 15 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391. The minnows have played some close games in this year’s tournament, and overcame England
in a thrilling finish, chasing down 328 runs for victory.
The conditions at Eden Gardens are expected to be in favour of the batsmen, as there won’t be any bounce and pace in the wicket.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751 are currently in sixth place in Group B with one win from the four matches they have played so far. Even though their chances to qualify for the knockout stages are very slim, they have an outside chance if they win both their remaining games.
However, it will be a very tough ask for the minnows, as they will be up against one of the most balanced teams of the tournament. The Proteas are in third spot in their group with three wins from four matches so far.
South African openers Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla will be looking forward to putting together a solid partnership at the top of the order, but Smith will be under pressure, as the Proteas captain hasn’t managed too many runs in this tournament.
Amla will be much more confident compared to Smith, and the Irish bowlers will have to work hard to contain the South African run-machine. Amla played a crucial part in the match against India, which the Proteas won by two wickets.
Even if the Irish bowlers manage to get a couple of early wickets in tomorrow’s match, they will have to get through the solid defence of Jacques Kallis. The veteran player was out of touch in the first few games, but found some form in the last match against
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750, which is not good news for Ireland.
The Proteas middle-order is doing a very good job for their team. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 has been in terrific form, and the flamboyant batsman has managed to score some quick runs for his team at crucial stages of games.
Another promising batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JP-Duminy-c1742 has the ability to play according to the situation of the match, as he can rotate the strike and shift gears in the death overs to lift the run-rate of his team.
The only weak link in the South African batting is http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Johan-Botha-c67173
and Robin Peterson provide flexibility to their team, as they can score some quick runs and can be handy with the ball as well.
South Africa have one of the best bowling line-ups in the World Cup. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir are all wicket-taking bowlers, who have helped the Proteas bowl out every team they have played in this event so far.
Considering the variety in the South African 11, it will be hard for the Irish to win tomorrow’s match. However, the minnows do have some talented players, who could pull off a miracle for them.
They will need the likes of William Porterfield, Niall O’Brien and Kevin O’Brien to shine with the bat. Bowlers like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/George-Dockrell-c59135 and Boyd Rankin will also need to rise to the occasion and help their team win the next match.
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