West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo says the pressure will be on “chokers” South Africa in their decisive Champions Trophy game. The winners of the Group B match in Cardiff on Friday will secure a place in the semi-finals alongside India.
bbc
“I think the South Africans will feel the pressure,” said Bravo. “They know if they lose, they are going back home.
“They have a tag of being chokers that do not do well in big tournaments, so that would be added pressure on them.”
West Indies won the World Twenty20 last October, but have lost the last 12 one-day meetings with South Africa, dating back to 2006.
“We’re going to enjoy the occasion and forget about what happens in previous games,” added all-rounder Bravo, whose side opened the tournament with a two-wicket win over Pakistan before losing by eight wickets to India.
“It’s a tournament. It’s a knockout game. We’ve been in this situation before and done well, so no pressure is on us.
“I’m not worried about the record of the previous games. I’m really excited and looking forward to this game tomorrow.”
South Africa Test captain Graeme Smith, who is not part of the one-day squad because of an ankle injury, responded to Bravo’s comments by writing on Twitter: “Never mind pressure on Proteas, Dwayne Bravo just put it all on himself! Not the smartest move from him I reckon.”
Captain AB de Villiers looks set to be able to call of Dale Steyn for the first time in the tournament, after the pace bowler missed the opening defeat by India and the victory over Pakistan with a side strain.
“He bowled at 100% intensity yesterday [Wednesday], and it was sort of the first part of his fitness assessment and today he’s doing a bit more,” said De Villiers.
“He’s 99.9% ready, but we’re just going to make sure that he’ll be ready to go.
“It’s almost a yes, just not yet. Just got to wait a few hours and then we’ll make the final call, but it’s looking good.”
Champions Trophy Group B
| P | W | L | N/R | Pts | NRR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +0.98 |
| South Africa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +0.41 |
| West Indies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -0.09 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.11 |
We re well past all limits of time. As per my understanding, we can;t come back if we go off after the scheduled finish. The umpires are still having a chat, presumably discussing the playing conditions. The pitch is covered
Am i the only one here enjoying the drama ?
At least this time SA scores. Justice?
Had Pollard not got out, the par here would have been 187
What drama. One team is on the verge of being knocked out after that one shot, and another shot is on the brink of running away with it, in a match affected by their biggest traditional enemy: rain. No official word yet, but it is raining hard
McLaren to Pollard, OUT, Pollard has thrown it away. Throws his bat at a short-of-a-length ball, gets the toe end on it, the ball goes as high as it goes long, and Steyn comes under it at third man, and makes no mistake. Now the par score is 190. If we don’t get any more cricket in, it’s a tie
KA Pollard c Steyn b McLaren 28 (23b 5×4 0x6) SR: 121.73
See you finished out there GBS, here they are just dramatizing it SA must go through
So, is it a draw according to Duckworth Lewis?
If it is, the Blomme go through….
The play was supposed to finish at 6.15pm plus the extra hour. Play was not supposed to go beyond 7.15pm. We are still here, we don’t have a result, nobody is playing, rain is falling, but nobody is declaring this match finished. What are they waiting for? It is pelting. Just to repeat: if there is no more play, this match is a tie, and South Africa go through. Had Pollard not been dismissed off that last ball, West Indies would have gone through
The game has been called off. We have a tie. South Africa are through
Yippeee, match called off… a draw… Blomme go through
@ superBul:
maybe this is the wheel that turned, one going our way. Sorry Windies although we chocked slightly we are in and you and loud mouth are OUT, cheers
From CI
Pollard will be heart-broken. He scored 28 off 23, he did his job until then, but that last ball. Oh man. And South Africa. They have beaten their biggest rivals in knockout cricket: rain and West Indies. South Africa are home and wet, is the joke on Twitter
Arpit: “I don’t think this is Pollard’s mistake. He didn’t know that the rain will start just after He’ll get out. Its just Badluck. Perhaps the Rain Gods are making up for some of the SA’s earlier miseries.”
I see a lot of blame on the batter Pollard but did anyone realize under what Pressure Dale Steyn was to catch that ball in the pouring rain?
Steyn made a huge difference in this game
But the fit-again Dale Steyn swung the pendulum back South Africa’s way. He sent down four dot balls, including a superb bouncer, before conceding just two singles and the onus was on the batsmen again. Lonwabo Tsotsobe entered the ring next and Pollard took him on. Two blistering boundaries, one mistimed over third man, the other a pull to midwicket, clawed West Indies in again.
The protagonists would not have been misplaced at a Wimbledon doubles match as Samuels set on Steyn again. A pull for four off the first ball of his next over put pressure back on Steyn but he delivered the ace. Full, straight and on-target, he uprooted Samuels’ middle-stump.
Steyn was our best bowler
So often, South Africa have been on that side of the equation. In 1992, they were eliminated from the World Cup because of rain. In 1996, the lost to West Indies. In 1999, they tied a semi-final against Australia and had to leave the World Cup because they had lost to them in the group stage. In 2003, they fell foul of Duckworth-Lewis. And at the 2004 and 2006 Champions Trophies defeats to West Indies put them out.
They may well see this result as a cathartic way to move past all of those and an omen that their major tournament fortunes are changing. But the real knockouts are still to come.
@ superBul:
And there I was blissfully unaware of the drama that was unfolding in this one. Got chance to see what had happened about an hour after it was over, gosh it must have been so tense to follow this one live in the end! Great though we made it through, such a lottery when games get affected by the rain like this one was.
@ Bullscot:
if the Bulls did this i would have been a possible client for GBS but damm we expect this from the Proteas dont WE
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