‘Pray that we win the toss tomorrow’
South Africa have won every game where they have batted first in this World Cup. A day ahead of the match between Bangladesh and South Africa in Mumbai, the Tigers' ODI skipper Shakib Al Hasan was asked to comment on Proteas' chasing ability.
South Africa have won three matches in this World Cup, winning against Sri Lanka, Australia and England by batting first. The only game they lost was against the Netherlands where they failed to chase down 246 in a 43-over-per-side, rain-curtailed game at Dharmasala. Shakib's answer at the press conference was simple.
"Pray that we win the toss tomorrow," Shakib said.
South Africa had posted 399 against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the venue for tomorrow's match against Bangladesh. Then the Proteas' pace attack upstaged England batters, bundling the English side out for 170 in 22 overs. Shakib felt the ground may not be conducive to spin even as ahead of the start of the tournament, spin was considered the best option against a side like South Africa. Shakib was ready to take a leaf out of the Netherlands' book.
"Spinner would have had an impact if the match wasn't at this ground. The ground is small and has had high-scoring matches. We are planning with those things in mind. Netherlands were able to contain them for a small score. So we will try to take something from that. We will take into account performances of one to one-and-a-half-years to make our plans. Ofcourse plans don't always succeed but we are hoping tomorrow will be a good day for us and our plans will succeed," he concluded.
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