In a do-or-die battle, India and South Africa set to take on each other in a Group B contest of the ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament at The Oval in London on June 11. Whichever team wins today will make it to the semi-finals. The high-voltage match will start at 15.00 IST. Both the teams have their opening game and lost their second battle.
India, after registering a thumping victory by 124 runs over arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4 at Edgbatson Cricket Stadium, suffered a seven-wicket defeat against young Sri Lankan side in their last group match on June 8. Asked to bat first, India registered a formidable total of 321/6 thanks to Shikhar Dhawan for his century stand and MS Dhoni for his blistering half-century. In reply, Sri Lankans chased down the target with ease to earn their first win. While South Afticans lost to Pakistan via the Duckworth-Lewis method in their last game. Group B is now open for every team, whichever team wins from here now they will make it into the semi-finals. Group B is comprised of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa. All the teams have two points each.
Take a trip back in time to 2000 to relive India v South Africa_ ahead of the big match! #INDvSA #CT17 pic.twitter.com/XXZlsAuMUl
— ICC (@ICC) June 11, 2017
War of Words:
Virat Kohli: “As a team, it’s a much important and the same goes with South Africa. It will be a great game for both the teams. As a cricketer, I always crave for such game. The team which will treat tomorrow’s game as a usual game and have the better composure will definitely win the game.”
#WATCH Virat Kohli addresses the media at The Oval, London ahead of match against South Africa #ChampionsTrophy2017 https://t.co/wulE7TrGzz
— ANI (@ANI_news) June 10, 2017
AB de Villiers: “ I’m very excited with this opportunity for the team and for myself on the big stage to go and just enjoy what we do best. We’re very excited about tomorrow and I also feel really excited about the opportunities.”
__ Can South Africa knock out India? Watch to see what @ABdeVilliers17 has to say in his pre-match press conference! ___#INDvSA #CT17 pic.twitter.com/XAOl0Edeao
— ICC (@ICC) June 11, 2017
Key Players:
India: Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have been in good nick throughout this tournament so far and they will have to provide India a good start against South Africa. While lower down the order Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Hardik Pandya can provide a serious damage to the SA. In bowling department, besides Bhuvneshwar Kumar no other bowler is utilising English conditions well.
India shaping up well as they go into their must win match against South Africa! _ @GatoradeIndia #SweatMore #INDvSA #CT17 pic.twitter.com/R6TcIGbOf1
— ICC (@ICC) June 11, 2017
South Africa: For South Africa, neither the batting not bowling looked to have clicked so far in this tournament. David Miller was the only batsman who was amongst the runs, scoring 75 against Pakistan. Pacer Morne Morkel was the only successful bowler among the Proteas with figures of 3/18. South Africa captain AB de Villiers form in the series has also been a matter of concern.
Toss Time:
The toss will happen at 14.30 IST.
Squad:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane.
It is nice and sunny – #TeamIndia sweating it out #CT17 #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/1Al5bDQc6V
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 10, 2017
South Africa: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), David Miller, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Keshav Maharaj, Farhan Behardien, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwayne Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada.
