They have so far maintained a
clean slate and there is very little to separate the two teams as South
Africa lock horns with Pakistan in what is expected to be a battle of
attrition in their ICC World Twenty20 Super Eight match here on Friday.
Both teams will be equally confident after their emphatic showings in
the group stage of the tournament, and it will be interesting to see who
emerges winner at the R Premadasa Stadium stadium.
Pakistan, winner of the 2009 edition, won both their group league matches with ease.If skipper Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed shone in their win over
New Zealand, Imran Nazir led the way with an onslaught that left the
Bangladesh bowlers shell-shocked in their last game.
Hafeez deserves mention as he led admirably with both bat and ball,
with his canny off-spinners often proving to be a perfect foil for Saeed
Ajmal, who has become a sort of a headache for batsmen the world over.
Flashy wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has also shown glimpses of
his brilliance and looked in good nick against their South Asian rivals.
Pacers Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir haven't really fired, but Yasir
Arafat made an impact with three Bangladeshi wickets, and Pakistan are
unlikely to make any changes to the squad that played in the last game.
The match assumes more significance for Pakistan as a win against the
Proteas will put them in the perfect frame of mind ahead of the
big-ticket encounter with arch-rival India on Sunday.South Africa have been in their consistent self in the group stage,
but the real tournament starts now, and more so for the Proteas.
The shocking 2011 World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand still
fresh in mind, South Africa once again would look to shed the tag of
perennial chokers in ICC tournaments, and a win on Friday will be a
positive step in that direction.
A look at their performance in the group stage will only add to South Africa's confidence going into the competitive round.Led by the explosive AB de Villiers, the team hammered neighbours
Zimbabwe by 10 wickets to start the tournament in the best possible
manner.In the rain-reduced seven-over hit against hosts Sri Lanka, the
Proteas were well served by the skipper, who helped them to a 32-run win
in Hambantota.
There is no dearth of strokemakers in the SA line-up and right from
the in-form Hashim Amla to the great Jacques Kallis, each one of them is
capable of single-handedly turning a match on its head.
The presence of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and his brother Albie make for an effective pace battery.
Probable XIs:
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