ICC CWC 2019 IND vs SA preview: Will both Kuldeep, Chahal play against SA?

The first ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match for the India cricket team will be momentous for skipper Virat Kohli for a number of reasons. Though this is his third World Cup as a player, the India vs South Africa match, to be played at Hampshire Bowl on Wednesday (June 5) will be the first World Cup game for Kohli as India’s captain. Backed by an able in-form team, Kohli will be carrying the weight of more than a billion fellow Indians’ hopes. Meanwhile South Africa will miss Dale Steyn in their playing 11 as he has been ruled out of the ICC CWC 2019. The Ageas Bowl pitch in Southampton is expected to be flat and South African batsmen's weakness against the slow bowlers would allow Indian team management to pick both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in India playing 11.

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Dale Steyn ruled out of ICC CWC. Photo: Reuters

This World Cup will test Kohli not only as a batsman but his leadership skills will also be under intense scrutiny. In many ways, this tournament will define his legacy as a leader.

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True, the present team has several players who could single-handedly turn any match on its head — the skipper himself leading the pack of such performers — but does it not miss the class of the 2011 winning side, and the street-smartness of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain?

Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, many would say, were a different league altogether. And then there was also the support starcast comprising Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina and a young Virat Kohli.

India captain Virat Kohli. Photo: PTI

But none could deny that the present India team, led by Kohli and mentored by Dhoni, has had its fair share of good results. Going by the track record, six wins in the nine forthcoming games to ensure a smooth passage to the semi-finals should not be a tall order.

Two years have been invested building a strong ODI squad. The process had started right after India’s loss to Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

The 'Men in Blue' have had adequate rest, too. While each of other teams has already played its first two games, India are raring to go and start their campaign with a commanding performance.

The first match in a tournament of such vast magnitude is always important and South Africa's confidence will be at its lowest following back-to-back defeats against England and Bangladesh.

To make matters worse, fast bowler Lungi Ngidi is out with a hamstring strain, senior speedster Dale Steyn is still recovering from a shoulder injury, and Hashim Amla got a nasty hit on the helmet off Jofra Archer's short ball against England in the opening game.

Lungi Ngidi. Photo: Reuters

The clash couldn't possibly have been more well-timed, as India have a chance to hold the Proteas by the scruff of their neck when they are seemingly at their weakest. However, the wise say that a cornered opponent is always a dangerous one. Head coach Ravi Shastri, a shrewd tactician by all means, will be surely making his players aware of the consequences of taking their foot off the pedal.

India vs South Africa: Pitch and weather prediction

The pitch at the Ageas Bowl stadium in Southampton, without any grass cover, is expected to be a batting-friendly one, but Kohli will have a few points to ponder over, as the weather forecast on match day indicates a cloud cover with intermittent showers.

These will be some of the pressing questions for skipper Kohli to address going into the first game.

There's no doubt that the Proteas are badly hit by poor form and injuries, but it may just take one fiery spell from Kagiso Rabada, for instance, to straighten things up. With a bit of help from weather conditions, Rabada’s scorching pace and ability to move the ball could just unsettle the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, who haven't had the best of times in the past few months.

Kedar Jadhav and Rohit Sharma. Photo: AP | PTI

K L Rahul is expected to take the number 4 slot, but it needs to be seen as to how well he performs when the conditions are nippy. Dhoni at number 5 will be expected to be the stabilising factor, and if he bats like he did in the warm-up match against Bangladesh, he could prove a nightmare for the Proteas attack.

But a bigger worry for South African skipper Faf du Plessis will be the batting department, where AB de Villiers' absence has surely had an impact. Proteas batsmen’s poor technique against slow bowlers has been exposed time and again and 20 overs of quality spin bowling might prove too hot for the South Africans to handle.

India cricket team news: 

It will be interesting to see whether Virat Kohli will go in with both the spinners — Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal — or choose an extra pacer in Bhuvneshwar Kumar to strengthen their pace attack, led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami.

However, given the inability of the South African batsmen to play against spinners, Kohli might be tempted to play 'Kul-cha'. Both Kuldeep and Chahal were extremely successful against the Proteas batsmen in the ODI series in South Africa last year which India had won. Kuldeep had scalped 17 wickets from six games while Chahal had only one less from an equal number of matches.

South Africa cricket team. Photo: Reuters

South Africa cricket team news:

Less than 24 hours after their most ignominious defeat in a World Cup game — against Bangladesh, which they lost by 21 runs — South Africa bowling spearhead Dale Steyn, 35, and batsman Hashim Amla, 36, were at the Ageas Bowl with a couple of support staff members, for a 75-minute session under the scorching sun. The desperation was palpable on both fronts. The team is seeking direction from its two senior-most players who would not like their final World Cup to be a forgettable one.

Having travelled for a couple of hours from London in the morning, the two players walked in the afternoon as the sun shone brightly after playing hide and seek during the India net session. Since it was a suddenly organised session, no nets were put up when Amla batted for more than an hour while Steyn bowled for around 30 minutes.

India key Players: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, M S Dhoni 

South Africa key Players: Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada

Ind vs SA playing 11 prediction

India Playing 11: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, K L Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav / Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal / Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

South Africa playing 11: Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram/Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, David Miller, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Dwaine Pertorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi.

ICC World Cup 2019, Match 8: India vs South Africa Live streaming details

Date and Day: June 5, 2019, Wednesday.

Place: Hampshire Bowl, Southampton

Time: 3:00 pm IST, 10:30 am local time

The World Cup 2019 India vs South Africa match live streaming will be available on Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 with English Commentary and Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD with Hindi Commentary. The live streaming of the World Cup 2019 India vs South Africa match will be available on Hotstar.

Full teams

South Africa world cup squad: Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, David Miller, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, Dwaine Pertorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamshi, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Chris Morris, Rassie van der Dussen.

India world cup squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, K L Rahul, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja