An honest question to Indian fans: Are we really a better ODI side than South Africa ? They will win it this time.

[patriot]

They might be ranked 4 but I think, in Indian conditions they are best. Certainly better than Aussies because unlike Aussies sides of the old the Saffie batting line up is stronger than Aussies man to man. Even Saffie bowling is better because of Botha. If conditions are not totally in our favour, they will beat us at some stage to win the cup. They are among teams expected to reach semis as usual BUT No one expects them to win. There is no pressure. I don't think they will choke this time. I mean apart from the occasional lion hearted bowling performance, our ODI side is batting. Pure batting. On paper even in Indian conditions, South Africa is a formidable batting side. Less than ours, but formidable none the less, what with Kallis, Smith, ABDV, Amla - all in smoking hot form. Formidable enough that their far superior all round bowling and fielding outfit makes them a better team than us, all round. South Africa is the only team I fear that can beat us, because these guys play our part time spinners better than any other team and apart from that their team is superior to other teams man for man even in Indian conditions. I hope we lose 2 games in the group stages (because of the batting not clicking) one of them to South Africa. That is the only way, the law of averages will work in our favor in the knockout stage starting with the quarters.

[Jersey #10]

in India? :rotfl::rotfl: India is by far the best team in this WC while playing in India. Sachyananda bava made a 200* against the saffies

[Roshanrocks]

its not necessary that the best team wins the world cup... once the quarters start any team can bow out on account of one bad day... even though on paper the saffer bowling attack is far better than india's, its quite possible our batters may batter their bowling so bad that their batting line up may not make any difference to the outcome of the match. ( or God forbid...vice versa)

[b555]

roro`s good old wise words

[flamy]

will be an interesting league game. thanks. - balachander

[vvvslaxman]

yes we are nowhere close to South Afirca ( in choking) . Come on. When is South Africa not favorite to win a world cup. They have been favorites for every goddamn tournament under the sun for the last 15 years.

[Ultimate_Game]

I don't know how you can say SA is better than India in the sub-continent? India nearly beat SA in SA with most of their starters missing recently. Now with the starters back and in India, India is a much more balanced team. Also, you are forgetting one key thing - SA's mental fragility in a must-win game. SA's losses against India in the recent series showed that mentally SA is as fragile as ever and for a team to win the cup, they will have to perform in pressure situations. I can't see SA doing so. Imagine a final between India and SA with SA chasing 270-280 to win and Indian spinners start putting pressure on SA middle order. Do you think SA has any batsman who can counter the spinners in such a scenario? IMO SA made a big mistake by not including Albie Morkel in the squad as he was one player who could have been a game changer for SA. India only has to be careful against Steyn and Morkel and should be able to put up a decent score - am not too convinced about Tsotsobe, Botha and other SA support bowlers to put pressure on Indian batsmen or take too many wickets.

[jibranpatel15]

well truly South Africans have come here withought any pressure and beleiving themselves that that chokers tag has to go this to around. They are comletely different side now where they are going to play 2 spinners with 2 part timers DUMINY & FAF they are realy looking good enjoying themselves in banglore and working realy hard in the nets if u read that article at CRICINFO. [CENTRE][/CENTRE]

[Chalks]

This format gives everyone hope. Might have said this before, but bears repeating: Assuming Pak get through their group (most likely in third place), they only need three good days, and they're world champions. Bit similar to 1992.

[patriot]

its not necessary that the best team wins the world cup... once the quarters start any team can bow out on account of one bad day... even though on paper the saffer bowling attack is far better than india's, its quite possible our batters may batter their bowling so bad that their batting line up may not make any difference to the outcome of the match. ( or God forbid...vice versa)

That is what I am saying. It is on hope. Can't expect our batters to batter bowling attacks every game. God forbit Law of averages catches up with our batting in the knockout. Chasing 300+ under lights or defending 240-260. South Africa are most equipped to deal with a bad day in batting or bowling both. They are not expected to win this time at all and I fear that. Cricket is known to bring up nasty results that make the severest of critics eat humble pie. Saffies now routinely cope the tag of chokers. They are not given much chance this time. I fear that. If a Bangladesh can beat both South Africa and India in the same World Cup in West Indies - A South Africa of whom nothing beyond a semis spot is expected can surely have 2 good games.

[hari504504]

I think SA will win it this time - no way is this bowling of ours going to to hold together for the whole tournament..

[Ultimate_Game]

I think SA will win it this time - no way is this bowling of ours going to to hold together for the whole tournament..

Did you see how CSK won IPL last year? I get a feeling Dhoni will do the same thing here. India plays all the games in India and we will see 2 spinners, backed up by Yuvraj & Pathan, starting against non-subcontinental teams. It won't be so easy for SA or other teams to force the pace against this Indian attack on turning pitches. If the tourney were being held outside of the subcontinent I would be more likely to agree with you but in Indian conditions don't think SA are favorites. In fact in a knock-out game I would take Aus, Pak or SL over SA.

[vvvslaxman]

I back Aussies & SL more

[Sir_Afridi]

Both teams are better than other in home conditions.

[patriot]

SL - no chance. Their batting is thin. Sangakarra, Jaya can't do it all the time. FTB Dilshan won't be able to do it against sheer pace that Aussies and RSA will serve. They don't have quality finishers. And their spin bowling is cannon fodder for Indian players. Aussies - Superb pace attack that could be lethal in knockout encounters. But their batting is so woefully out of form against spinners. They dont like batting in slow subcontinent conditions. They have not for years. No Hayden, Gilly at the top to take the game away. Ponting out of form. Don't fear them.

[yoda]

I can see any of these 5 teams in the finals: IND/SL/Eng/SAF/AUS In the finals, I would give Ind the edge over any team except Aus, simply because the Aussies know how to win big games. SAF are known to and will choke when it matter, unless they can prove otherwise.

[Prudent]

I doubt they will reach semis this time.

[Prudent]

well truly South Africans have come here withought any pressure and beleiving themselves that that chokers tag has to go this to around. They are comletely different side now where they are going to play 2 spinners with 2 part timers DUMINY & FAF they are realy looking good enjoying themselves in banglore and working realy hard in the nets if u read that article at CRICINFO. [CENTRE][/CENTRE]

So this is the proof that they will not choke this time :cantstop:

[Ultimate_Game]

I can see any of these 5 teams in the finals: IND/SL/Eng/SAF/AUS In the finals, I would give Ind the edge over any team except Aus, simply because the Aussies know how to win big games. SAF are known to and will choke when it matter, unless they can prove otherwise.

I would put Pak in the list as well. Pak has a decent pace attack with seamers (Umar Gul, Wahab, Razzaq and Akhtar to a lesser extent) backed up with a pretty good spin bowling (Ajmal, Afridi, Hafeez, Rahman). Their batting is a bit suspect but two factors mitigate the concern - i) Matches are played in sub-continent where technical deficiences of the batsmen won't be exposed, ii) Pak makes up for lack of quality with a deep batting order as they have a bunch of all-rounders like Hafeez, Afridi and Razzaq with Razzaq coming in at 8. Plus I like the new opener they have brought in - Shehzad. He's much better than the likes of Imran Nazir or Imran Farhat etc. and should provide runs at the top. The only real real weaknesses I see in Pak is fielding - they are the worst fielding unit of all the test playing nations, and temperament - they are highly inconsistent and you never know what might happen. But this format should favor them as they will be in quarters and after that it's a matter of 3 good games and they are very much capable of stringing 3 good games.

[punjabi_khota]

This "law of averages" argument crap is a steaming pile of bullshit. It never caught up with OZ who won haven't lost a WC game in 12 years. India in 03 won 9 games on the trot or something, and were only stopped in the final by a decidedly better OZ outfit. SA still hasn't shown much of ability to win close games, so I would back India to win a knockout game against them.