In previous World Cups, the prospect of facing a dominant home team in front of one of cricket’s most boisterous audiences would have caused South Africans to ponder what their team had done to deserve such a daunting task. Not at present.
Yes, India will be the opponent at Eden Gardens on Sunday (November 5). Yes, they are unbeaten and brimming with confidence and vigor in all areas. Yes, they are the most ardently supported team in the sport, if not the world. No, this does not imply that South Africa is intimidated, anxious, or apprehensive about the approaching competition.
“What we’ve done really well in this campaign is focus on what we want to do and how we want to play it,” Rassie van der Dussen said in Pune on Wednesday after South Africa hammered New Zealand by 190 runs to rise to the top of the standings. “In our match review meetings, we keep looking at the numbers with the coaches and so far in this tournament, by most metrics, we’re stacking up pretty well.
“So, it’s almost irrelevant who’s in front of you. We know if we play the way we want to play and execute how we want to and take the correct options, especially under pressure, then the result is a byproduct.”
On Wednesday, Van der Dussen scored 133 and Quinton de Kock made 114; together, they shared 200 for the second wicket to set South Africa on the path to a total of 357/4. Then, in 35.3 overs, Marco Jansen took 3/31 and Keshav Maharaj takes 4/46 to dispatch the New Zealanders for 167.
Each of South Africa’s five victories when batting first have been by more than 100 runs. Their greatest success was against England at the Wankhede Stadium on October 21, when they won by 229 runs.
De Kock has scored the most runs in the tournament with 545 in seven innings. He has made four centuries, Van der Dussen two, and Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram one each. No other team has achieved more centuries than Australia’s five. Jansen is tied for the most wickets with Adam Zampa and Shaheen Shah Afridi, with a total of 16.
