Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers believes early wickets will be important for the Proteas team despite the Australian side appearing to lack confidence following their loss to India. De Villiers believes Steve Smith’s wicket could be crucial for his team in this heated competition.
ODI World CupBoth teams had very different starts, with Proteas defeating Sri Lanka in a run-fest, while Australia lost to India in Chennai. The five-time champions will look to get back to winning ways in the match against South Africa.
“The Australians will lose confidence after losing to India, but an injured Australian team is very dangerous.” “Getting early wickets will be important to keep the pressure on. Yes, but I haven’t been particularly good lately,” de Villiers wrote in a column for the ICC.
“It may sound obvious, but the wicket of Steve Smith will be the most important. He has put everything together for Australia and we released him early. If we can, we are confident that we can get the job done,” AB de Villiers added.
Pat Cummins’ team had experienced players but were unable to assert themselves on the difficult Chepauk surface. The Australian squad was bowled out for 199 runs in the first match and were unable to defend their total after picking three quick wickets during the match.
Kagiso Rabada Is Determined To Step Up To The Plate – AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers believes South African bowlers need to step up for the team in the main draw if they are to become genuine favorites to win the Indian Championship. He asserted that Kagiso Rabada will have to take charge of the team in the absence of Henri Nortje.
“All the attention is focused on the batsmen, but if South Africa want to be seen as genuine contenders, this is a huge test for their bowling attack, especially without Henrich Nortje. I don’t know.”at World Championships like Australia.
“The loss of Nortje to injury is a real blow and means there is extra pressure on Kagiso Rabada to lead the attack. I spoke to him last week and he is determined to step up to the plate and lead by example as one of the best bowlers in the world,” Ab de Villiers further added.
Proteas bowlers Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada performed reasonably well against Sri Lanka. Proteas will be aiming to strike in the second match of the ODI World Cup against Australia to maintain their momentum in the tournament.
