New Delhi: In what turns out to be a true virtual quarter-final for the Indian squad as they take on currently ranked World no.1 South Africa at the Oval, today.
Little would the skipper Virat Kohli and rest of the 1.2 billion Indians would have thought that the defending champions would come to such a conjuncture in their bid to retain the title. After a thumping 124-runs victory over the inexperienced Pakistan side, India proved to be a real threat and a tough contender before Sri Lanka handed them a rather shocking defeat. With the hope and expectation to emulate the near flawless performance yet again, Men in Blue took on the Lankans but the rejuvenated islanders overturned expectations to give a wake-up call to Virat Kohli's men.
Fellow Group B side, South Africa, faced quite a similar phenomenon. They crawled over the Sri Lankan side with a comfortable 96-run win, but were left stunned by a spirited Pakistan in a rain-truncated encounter, by 19 runs.
When Group B was announced, many would have thought about who would finish second – India or South Africa? Courtesy to Pakistan and Sri Lanka who have have in fact blown in life in the group. As the two teams head to the Oval, one thing and only thing is what both need – victory, to march into the semi-final stage.
For the South African side, it is the skipper AB de Villiers who has been more of a concern. Continuing from his poor IPL season, to the series against England and finally to his first golden duck in his career. AB de Villiers would now be eager to shine in this crucial do-or-die situation. Hope would even reside on JP Duminy, the second-most experienced cricketer in the team, who too has been struggling to contribute.
And the Indian side would be eager to call forth Ravichandran Ashwin given that the Proteas side has three left-handers. The offie's record against southpaws stands as 63 wickets at 24.23. Even Mohammad Shami wouldn't be a bad choice owing to the fact that the pacer has scalped 11 wickets in four matches against South Africa. Shami might replace Jasprit Bumrah or Umesh Yadav.
As for the weather, well it is expected to remain sunny and cloudy, thus ample spectators are expected there at the stadium.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers(c), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Farhaan Behardien, Morne Morke
When is the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa?
The ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa is on Sunday, June 11.
At what time will the live coverage of the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa start?
The live coverage of ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa will start at 3:00 pm IST.
Where will the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa match be played?
The ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa match will be played at the Oval.
Which are the TV channels that will do a live telecast of the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa?
Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD 1 are the channels that will do a live telecast of the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa.
Where can one watch the live streaming of the ICC Champions Trophy match between India and South Africa?
One can watch the live streaming on Hotstar. For live scores, updates, and analysis, you can follow zeenews.india.com/cricket.
