T20 World Cup: After The 2024 final rematch India’s first Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup is against South Africa. According to cricketers in Ahmedabad, this will be India’s most difficult World Cup assignment to date.
Before The 2024 final rematch, A total of four Indian players showed up for practice on Saturday, the day before India was scheduled to play South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, and the situation was essentially the same for the South African team as well. It was a stark contrast that South Africa chose not to have a full practice under the lights of the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
In the Motera neighborhood of Ahmedabad, where the stadium is situated, Saturday was a lull before the storm. There weren’t many people living there. A few people had congregated outside the stadium’s main gate and were requesting tickets from the security personnel. On the field, South African and Indian players were moving about the stadium as carpenters and painters completed the lounges for players and VIPs within the stadium complex.
This World Cup matchup between South Africa and India is the first official encounter since the Proteas’ devastating defeat in the 2024 tournament final. During a press conference, Quinton de Kock stated that no squad member has discussed that night since that fateful day in Barbados, indicating that South Africa is still sensitive about the matter.
After The 2024 final rematch again, though, South Africa’s training sessions would not convey that sense of urgency.
Only Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, and Tristan Stubbs hit the nets two days prior to the game. Ryan Rickelton was the only one throwing down in the main arena the day before the match.
After The 2024 final rematch ,The fact that South Africa has already played three games here, though, is significant. They have a thorough understanding of the ground’s conditions because two of them were night games.
As they experiment with various drills in the nets, a large portion of South Africa’s practice centers on their bowling strategy. They will hope that everything goes smoothly on Sunday since they have given their bowling attack a lot of thought.
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THE HARDEST TEST YET FOR INDIA?
About four hours were spent practicing by the Indian team two days prior to the game. The majority did not show up for the Saturday afternoon session.
After The 2024 final rematch Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav were displaying amazing touch. There was also Axar Patel’s batting. On the black clay surface, there were hints that India will use Arshdeep Singh in the starting lineup and play one fewer spinner. To Ishan Kishan, he bowled a lot in the nets.
Some question of Indian side , The top four batsmen, with the exception of Ishan Kishan, have yet to display any talent. Abhishek Sharma is completely out of shape. He will be playing under pressure after taking five wickets in the previous seven games. They will be under considerably more strain if they fail to score runs against South Africa.
After The 2024 final rematch , During the World Cup, Abhishek Sharma was removed twice by off-spinners. The roles of Suryakumar and Tilak are also being questioned. They are both incapable of carrying out their duties effectively. Tilak’s World Cup strike rate of little over 120 is significantly lower than his career strike rate of 141. In the match versus America, Suryakumar did score an undefeated 84. However, injuries prevented the American team’s two top bowlers from bowling an entire over.
In the slow game, it’s getting harder to get beyond the pressure on the batsmen. The emphasis is being placed primarily on Shivam Dubey (strike rate 178), or Hardik Pandya (strike rate 155). It is unreasonable to expect them to play every day.
Indian cricket team. Photo: PTI.
IND vs SA: AHMEDABAD PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS
After The 2024 final rematch , Both sides have decided not to retain their players in lengthy net sessions during the day because Ahmedabad gets so hot in the afternoon. There was breeze in the evening and modest cloud cover at times. The Ahmedabad pitch is anticipated to be black clay, which would provide the spinners with little help.
One wonders if the purpose of keeping the wicket covered before the game was to keep it from drying out too soon.
In his news conference, De Kock stated that there has been little to no spin in Ahmedabad thus far, and it is unclear whether the World Cup would ultimately feature the high-scoring thriller that it has promised.
Prior to the match, the Narendra Modi Stadium has not experienced any dew, and Sunday is not anticipated to be any different.