The Hindu : Sport : South Africa overwhelming favourite

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Tuesday, Mar 15, 2011
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South Africa overwhelming favourite

S. Sabanayakan

Ireland nonetheless will strive to put up another impressive performance

— Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

REFLEX REGIMEN:Ireland's Trent Johnston (right) and John Mooney engaged in a bout of boxing during a training session ahead of the league match against South Africa in Kolkata on Tuesday.

KOLKATA: After its morale-boosting victory against India, South Africa is quietly confident on the eve of the ICC World Cup Group B league match against Ireland.

A win on Tuesday at the Eden Gardens will ensure a quarterfinal berth for the Proteas.

That the South Africans preferred to rest before the game in itself proved that Ireland can never be a threat to its hegemony.

For Ireland, the game is another important fixture to make its presence felt.

The chance to showcase its growing stature in world cricket and to upset higher-ranked teams.

A thigh injury to A.B. de Villiers has laid the classic batsman low and he is likely to be rested rather than risked.

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir is already out with an injury.

Laudable win

The way the South Africans recovered from the defeat against England to comeback against India was laudable. With just Bangladesh to play in the final league encounter, the Proteas are unlikely to slip up at this stage of the tournament.

But team coach Corrie van Zyl has a different take.

“It is always dangerous playing a team like Ireland after winning against an established side like India. In such situations, it is important how one approaches the game. We are fully aware of what Ireland have done and can do,'' he explained.

For the Irish, it has been a dream World Cup so far. The team ran close in some games and inflicted a humiliating defeat on England for its best showing so far. Backed by keen fielding and enthusiastic bowling, the team has done well so far.

Ireland might be dreaming of winning the next two games in order to force itself into the knockout phase but the big question is whether the country is ready to upset teams like South Africa?

The only positive for Ireland is that it can play freely without any pressure. The team has illness worries with all-rounder Andre Botha down with a stomach problem. The team management will wait until morning to take a call on playing him. The pitch is expected to be a good one for batting but the team bowling second needs to consider the dew factor.

The teams (from): South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, A.B. de Villiers, Francois du Plessis, J.P. Duminy, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Morne van Wyk.

Ireland: Willam Porterfield (captian), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, John Mooney, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White, Gary Wilson and Andre Botha.

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena and Billy Doctrove. Third umpire: Simon Taufel. Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle.

Match starts at 2.30 p.m .

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