The South Africans have fired the first salvo saying they know how to deal with the strong Indian batting line up.
http://www.cricketnext.com/news1/next/joshi/tap612.htm
**We have an answer for ‘devastating’ Indian batsmen: SA bowlers **
By Tapan Joshi
Colombo, September 24, 2002
The Indian batting line-up is the talk of the town these days. Experts and laymen here are debating how the famed batsmen would fare against an efficient South African bowling attack that boasts of proven performers like Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis.
Donald, the best and the most experienced of the lot, said, “You just have to run in hard every ball against them. In the sub-continent, the Indian batsmen can be devastating. The pitches here for this tournament are excellent. There’s good carry and for a batsman, it also facilitates hitting through the line. It should be a very good contest.”
Donald said his ankle is not yet hundred per cent but he experienced no pain at all while bowling in the nets. “I am really looking forward to playing India in the semi-finals,” he said, “Indians probably have the best batting line-up in these conditions and if you hope to win this tournament you have to beat the best.”
His captain Shaun Pollock nodded in agreement. “India is a very confident side at the moment and we are quite confident as well. Everybody is talking about their batsmen but I think we have an answer for their batsmen.”
He said his side jotted down a lot of points from India’s game against England here. “Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly were brilliant in that game. They just didn’t allow England a chance to get back in the match. We have studied each and every Indian batsman in detail and surely, we won’t be bowling the way England did in that game,” he said.
Naturally, Sehwag was a cause of concern for the South Africans but they clearly are not focussing on him alone. “He is timing the ball very sweetly,” Donald said, “he can be destructive on his day as he likes to go for his shots. But there are others to contend with as well. Guys like Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Yuvraj, the young fellow Kaif… all of them are batting very well.”
All-rounder Kallis is of the opinion that his side would have to show a lot of aggression against India. “We have to come hard at them. Their batsmen are not going to make life easy for us and we have to make sure we run in hard and play tough cricket,” he said.
Pollock dismissed the notion that his side could come under pressure while chasing a big score. “There are theories floating around that we don’t chase all that well but I don’t subscribe to them. We have a decent batting line-up as well and the batters are in good form,” he said.
Donald agreed it was a contest between the Indian batsmen and the South African bowlers. “Yeah, you can look at it that way. I mean, if we manage to take a few quick wickets and send back some of their main guys, they will be on the backfoot,” he said.
Pollock, when asked if he was worried over the loss of form of payers like Lance Klusener, chose to downplay it. “Lance has won many games for us in the past. He s the most dangerous batsmen in the late overs and that’s where he likes them. He is all pumped up and geared for the big match,” the skipper said.
In the last ICC knock-out trophy in Nairobi in 2000, the Indians had convincingly beaten the South Africans. Said Kallis, “It’s all past, this is a new game. We don’t look at what happened two years ago.”
Pollock said his side might “spring a surprise” tomorrow by shuffling the batting line-up. “We are flexible in our approach and open to change. Who knows, we might throw India off-guard tomorrow.”
Donald said bowlers just can’t afford to give width to the Indians or bowl at a driveable length. “They are quite good at hitting through the line and guys like Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly… they all can play on the rise. They can make good balls look silly. One has to be precise against the Indians,” he said.
