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St. Lucia: For a team that plays under pressure all year, the chance to just go out on the field and express themselves will be very welcome. For the Proteas, though, the reverse is applicable, given that they open with a game against an Indian team high on confidence.
Graeme Smith is an articulate and thoughtful captain, but even he could not find appropriate ways to brush aside concerns that his team were in prime position to perform their latest rendition of the "choke."
"The time has always come (to put the record straight on choking), you know," said Smith. "Every one of these tournaments, each team arriving here is trying to win the tournament. The nature of the Twenty20 tournament is that the teams are so close together, it's such small margins that make the difference at the end of the day."
The last time these two teams played each other in a major T20 match was in Nottingham in the 2009 World T20, on a sluggish deck that took more spin than anyone anticipated. The pairing of Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe comfortably out-bowled their Indian counterparts. Obviously that was still fresh in Smith's mind as the teams got set to play on another pitch that is expected to help spinners.
In contrast, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was almost irritated when his mind was taken back to the loss to South Africa in the last T20 World Cup. "Sometimes people force you to think about these things, but it doesn't really work that way," said Dhoni. "If you look at it like that, staying in the past, we should have never won the T20 World Cup in 2007 after we just lost the 50-over World Cup."
With back-to-back matches there's little time for this Indian team to pace their preparations. Perhaps that's why Dhoni insists that his team should "stay in the present" and think merely about the next game. It's not the worst strategy, and it gives the team the best possible chance of succeeding.
Murali Vijay, the late replacement for Virender Sehwag, got his Twenty20 international career off to a good start with 48 against Afghanistan, but the big test of how well India are doing without Sehwag will come against a strong team like South Africa.
Team news
India made an interesting move against Afghanistan, picking both Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of a sixth specialist batsman. Apart from that mini dilemma, India should play the same XI.
Squad from MS Dhoni (C & WK), Piyush Chawla, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Vinay Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Yusuf Pathan, Gautam Gambhir (VC), Murali Vijay
South Africa will like to play both their spinners. The big decision will be the choice of opener, between Herschelle Gibbs and Loots Bosman.
Squad from Graeme Smith (C), Jacques Kallis (VC), Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (WK), AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Rory Kleinveldt, Juan Theron, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe
Pitch and conditions
After the first day of the matches in St Lucia, it is evident boundaries are not easy to come by. It is a big ground, and the outfield is slightly lush, which will put more impetus on quick running and out-cricket. The pitch is a bit slow too, which will keep the spinners interested. An early-morning start could mean a bit of moisture in the track.
Stats and trivia
India lead the head-to-head 2-1, having won twice in South Africa before losing once in England.
India-South Africa matches have been generally low-scoring: in the six innings between them, only once has 130 been passed, when India scored 153 in Durban and then kept South Africa to 116.
Match facts
Sunday May 02, 2010
Start time 9:30 local (13:30 GMT)
