South Africa v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 – ICC World Cup 2011
South Africa and West Indies will be competing against each other for their first match of the ICC World Cup 2011. It is a day six of the World Cup and the seventh game of the competition.
This day and night match will be played at http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780, India. It can turn out to be a one sided game in the favour of South Africa. However, with this young West Indies team anything is possible.
South Africa has one of the most balanced sides in the World Cup. They are the serious contenders and will be hoping to win their first ever World Cup.
On the other hand, West Indies has seen World Cup glory, but that was a long time ago. Under the captaincy of Darren Sammy, the team has a nice blend of youth and experience. The buzzing characters in the team are capable enough to test the top teams.
Recent form suggests that South Africa will give a real tough time to West Indies. In their last five games http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 has won three and lost two, where as West Indies has lost all five of their recent games.
The curator of the pitch, Andy Atkinson, has ensured a fair contest between the ball and the bat. The news is that there is some green on the pitch and that will provide assistance to the fast bowlers.
With some zest and spice in the track, the bowlers can get the early advantage. However, generally the Asian pitches assist batting. The dew factor can play a significant role and for that reason, the team winning the toss might opt to bowl first.
Players to watch:
Hashim Amla:
His track record on Indian pitches is exceptional and in recent times he is the most prolific scorer for South Africa. In the last 12 months he has played 20 games at an extraordinary average of 72.66.
Once in the groove, he is the most delightful batsman to watch and will be a prize wicket for the opposition. His main attribute is pacing his innings, according, to the situation and his range of shots can test the naive bowling line-up.
Chris Gayle:
Chris Gayle is one of the most devastating left hand batsmen in the modern cricket. His ability of power hitting can seriously hurt the opposition. The track will suit his kind of batting and he will be a key player for the success of West Indies.
After failing to get a contract with IPL, he would be keen to prove a point. It will be a tall task for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dale-c52110 Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe to claim the wicket of Gayle.
Trivial Information:
In the last 11 One Day Internationals (ODIs) against each other, South Africa was won all.
The last time both the teams clashed in the World Cup game, South Africa defeated West Indies.
West Indies has not lost a game on this venue and they have played only one ODI game at Kotla in Delhi.
It is the first time South Africa will be playing on this ground. The highest and lowest score on this ground came in the same match. In that game, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 collapsed out for 144.
Down memory lane:
The last time West Indies won against South Africa was in 2006. It was the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final and was played in Jaipur, India.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat. The team led by Graeme Smith scored 258 runs in the first innings. West Indies comfortably chased the score, and opener, Chris Gayle, played a match winning innings of 133 runs unbeaten. In his brutal innings
he hit 17 fours and three mammoth sixes and won the man of the match award.
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