#CWC15: Can India end jinx against South Africa?

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  • Looking for the win: India will have to up their game if they are to beat South Africa for the first time in the Cricket World Cup.

    Team India’s horrific time Down Under might have vanished after thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening game at the World Cup.

    – READ: Sport360's World Cup 2015 magazine
    – VIDEO: New Zealand v England highlights

    India made it 6-0 in the competition, giving the dressing room a massive lift, having gone winless in the last few months.

    India’s 76-run win was still a huge margin considering the pressure, expectation and hype surrounding the game.

    Captain cool MS Dhoni finally took a dig at critics but their title defence has just begun and perhaps their toughest game in the group is up next, against South Africa on Sunday, March 22nd at the MCG.

    Head to Head

    The Men in Blue are yet to register a win in the competition against South Africa, losing all three in 1992, 1999 and even in 2011, trying to defend on all occasions. 

    Overall, in 70 ODIs played so far, India lost 42 and won only 25(3 games had no result), having a win/loss ratio of 0.595.

    Their most recent meeting with South Africa ended in a whitewash – losing 2-0 in a 3-match ODI series with the final game being washed out due to rain.

    In 23 games played at home, India earned only 13 wins since 1991 but their record overseas is shocking, losing 32 out of 47 games.

    Their last overseas win came during the ICC Champions Trophy back in June 2013 when South Africa blew it away chasing 331 and India managed to clinch a crucial 26-run win in Cardiff.

    Except this game, India lost 6 out of their last 8 games since January 2011, including a World Cup Group match at Nagpur where Sachin Tendulkar scored a famous century (111) to drive India towards 296 but South Africa managed to win the thriller with just two balls to spare.

    Venue

    Matches

    Won

    Lost

    No Result

    W/L Ratio

    Overall

    70

    25

    42

    3

    0.595

    Home

    23

    13

    10

    0

    1.300

    Away & Neutral

    47

    12

    32

    3

    0.375

    *India vs South Africa in ODIs since 1991

    Teams batting first have enjoyed more success in the opening games of the World Cup scoring huge totals and restricting their opponents who tend to succumb to pressures of increasing Run-Rate and loss of wickets.

    India do not stand a chance if South Africa bat first as they lost 5 out of their last 6 games chasing since January 2011.

    Moreover, they recorded only a single win in their last 6 games played at the MCG (all against Australia) since January 2000.

    Performance Boost

    India’s dramatic improvement against Pakistan is mostly down to the rivalry between the two nations but their resounding win could have a profound effect against South Africa next Sunday.

    It is hard to say who will bring in the momentum and winning mentality at the MCG as both teams registered significant wins in their respective opening game.

    Virat Kohli is back amongst the runs with a century after scoring 9, 4 and 8 in the ODI tri-series.

    India’s vice-captain scored his 22nd ODI ton, equaling former captain Sourav Ganguly’s tally. Kohli is also the quickest batsman in ODIs to reach 22 hundreds – 143 innings which is even quicker than Sachin Tendulkar, who took 206 innings.

    Shikhar Dhawan, who was criticized for his poor show overseas, and Suresh Raina have slightly regained form at the right time.

    R Ashwin, who was dropped for a couple of games in the tri-series after a string of poor bowling figures, delivered 3 maiden overs to build up pressure on Pakistan which eventually resulted in their collapse.

    S Venkataraghan was the last Indian spinner to deliver 3 maiden overs in a World Cup game against West Indies at Birmingham in 1979

    Injury concern

    Ashwin was reported to be struck by a Umesh Yadav delivery while batting in the nets but has been declared fit for selection on Sunday, while India's swing king Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who missed the opener against Pakistan, will add more attacking firepower after recovering from an ankle problem.

    Kumar's injury has been a worry since India toured Australia, playing one Test, two ODIs and the practice game with the hosts.

    India cannot afford to miss his services especially when the opposition boasts names like AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and David Miller, who can all turn things around without a warning.  

    Steyn and Co.

    India's so called world class batting line-up will be up against the world's most feared pacer – Dale Steyn, who was reportedly suffering from flu but recovered and trained on Friday.

    Heading back to 2013-14 in the first ODI in Johannesburg, Rohit Sharma struggled against the speedster and took 16 deliveries to put ball to bat. Chasing 358, Rohit's strike rate of 41.94 was the least as India collapsed to 217.

    He averages 20 in 11 games against South Africa.

    Vernon Philander claimed 23 wickets at 19.78 in 12 matches, an average better than Steyn's 25 and Morne Morkel's 29.46.

    Imran Tahir is noted as the best leg-spinner at the World Cup and has 32 wickets from 18 matches averaging 21.96. 

    However, their performance in the last 2 ODIs has been below par. Co-hosts New Zealand hammered them in the warm-up game and though they won comfortably against Zimbabwe in their World Cup opener, South Africa had to rely on individual performances.

    At one point they were struggling at 83/4 but JP Duminy's and Miller's record 5th wicket-stand helped them post 339.

    In reply, Zimbabwe managed to score 214/3 in 36 overs but collapsed for 277, still a high score considering South Africa's bowling and fielding abilities.

    India's morale boosting win against Pakistan was enough to instill enormous amounts of positive energy in the dressing room as they finally broke the deadlock with a win after nearly 3 months.

    Dhoni silenced his critics after displaying an attacking style of play and promised to carry on with the same intent and intensity throughout the tournament.

    South Africa, on the other hand, will be aware of the fact that Indian batsmen struggle against bounce and their main strength lies in their batting.

    In the end, South Africa will be relishing the chance to thump the defending champions under favourable conditions but India will be geared up to break the jinx. 

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