Proteas captain Faf du Plessis has a simple recipe for success in the ICC World T20 semifinal against India on Friday: key decision-making during pressure situations.
The Proteas face another knockout situation in an ICC event, and will be keeping it simple in search of the elusive silverware.
“We have felt it a couple of times before that it was our time and that didn’t work out,” Du Plessis said at his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
“To be honest with you, India is still regarded as favourites. We have almost been playing as underdogs; no one really gave us a chance before the tournament.
“We have been playing really well as a team,” he highlighted. “We have had different guys performing in each game, so we are not relying on a particular individual. It is a high pressure game, it will be important to play the key moments well and to make the right decisions at crucial times, if we do that we will come out on top.”
This is the eighth head-to-head T20 International meeting between the two sides, with India winning five out of seven. Du Plessis says the men from the sub-continent remain the favourites because of their past success at major ICC tournaments.
“In these T20 games, it is about how you play on the day,” he said. “We will enter the game with a fresh mindset. We have had huge success against them before. We have been through some tough situations with our resilience and never-say-die attitude getting us through. We’re expecting pressure. Every game you play for your country there is pressure. It is all about doing the basics well.”
The management will assess the conditions during the semifinal between England and the Momentum Proteas Women to determine whether to play a second frontline spinner.
“If there is excessive spin we will definitely look at that option, but if it’s a good wicket we will pick up where we left off in Chittagong,” he said.
[Cricket SA]
