(Source Youtube)
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has pinpointed key concerns for South Africa ahead of their T20 World Cup semi-final against Afghanistan in Trinidad on Thursday.
This marks South Africa’s first qualification for a T20 World Cup semi-final since 2014, setting the stage for a challenging encounter against Afghanistan.
While South Africa has secured victories over Afghanistan in previous T20 World Cup matches, Chopra emphasized that Afghanistan has evolved significantly since then. He noted that Afghan players are currently in good form and demonstrating a collective determination to perform well. Throughout the tournament, different players have stepped up in various matches and conditions, showcasing the team’s depth and adaptability.
Aakash Chopra expressed concerns about South Africa’s historical tendency to falter in crucial matches, highlighting this potential issue in his YouTube channel preview of the upcoming game.
South Africa’s problem is the cobwebs of the customary choking. They will once again find themselves there. Self-doubts are their biggest enemy. In the last ODI World Cup, they were playing very well but what happened in the end?” he said.
Chopra cited South Africa’s loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup semifinal as evidence to support his argument.
“You realized that you score 450 when you bat first and 150 when you bat second. So you felt you should bat first in the semi-final even though there was moisture on the surface. The Kolkata pitch was screaming that you should bowl first but they said they would bat first as they were unable to bat later,” Chopra recalled.
Nevertheless, the former Indian opener praised Aiden Markram and his team for effectively managing the pressure in the current scenario.
“One thing that will change with this team is that it’s happened for the first time that it’s been raining, DLS has come into play, and South Africa have been at an advantage. They are always at the receiving end but something different has happened in this World Cup. They have won many close games,” he observed.
The former Indian cricketer also noted that the Trinidad pitch is likely to favor the tall South African pacers, who can generate pace and bounce from it. He suggested that spinners might not find as much assistance from this pitch compared to the pacers.
“This pitch doesn’t have much turn. It has uneven bounce and when there is uneven bounce, fast bowlers are dangerous and difficult to negotiate because the ball will climb at times and stay low on other occasions. “Spinners don’t trouble that much if there is uneven bounce. You can go on the front and play with the straight bat and you can survive, but you cannot play fast bowlers like that on a pitch where there is a lot of up-down behavior, and some balls turn out to be grubbers, and that is happening on this pitch,” Chopra explained.
South Africa have won their last seven matches consecutively. Nevertheless, their streak could count for nothing if they fail to win the semi-final against Afghanistan.
