Fantasy Preview of India v South Africa

India and South Africa clash against each other in a dead rubber, with South Africa already having qualified for the semi-finals and the defending champions having being knocked out of the competition. This does make it easier for some of the Sports Pundit Fantasy experts, with a clear focus towards picking cricketers from South Africa for the fantasy league.

The one bowler from South Africa, who has impressed one and all, has been Wayne Parnell, having picked up eight wickets in the four games he has played so far, with seven of them coming against relatively stronger teams like England and West Indies. Dale Steyn, on the other hand has been steady and has the potential of picking wickets, especially against a team which has shown that it does not enjoy playing the short balls that well.
To me though, Johan Botha is the one bowler who could get some wickets going for him. India has traditionally been very good players of spin, and Botha is a very intelligent spinner who has established his place in the side. Add that to the fact that the Indian batsmen may not get too much in their halves against the pace bowlers, essentially making them go after Botha. This should enhance his chances to pick up the wickets.

From amongst the batsmen, Jacques Kallis is best suited to play that long innings after having invented himself in the shortest format of the game. His bowling would be an added bonus, and I can also see him play a major role in the sterner test ahead in the semi-final; making him a very invaluable player for the Proteas.

From amongst the Indians, skipper M.S.Dhoni will face a lot of pressure, but Micky Arthur’s statement that the South Africans wanted to knock the Indians out would have been heard by the Indians. If they needed some kind of motivation to get going, then this could just be it and the Indian players could rally around their skipper for the same. Yuvraj Singh could be one crucial batsman in the whole scheme of things, but I also sense that the ouster would give players like Gautam Gambhir a lot more freedom to play their shots too.