South Africa are the top-ranked T20 side in the world. They
are one side that has perform time after time well in all the three set-up of
the game all year round. Their shape led them to become the first ever side to
have top the ranking charts in all the format recently.
To match their image, the Proteas, astonishingly, have only
one major ICC trophy to their Christian name—ICC make unconscious cup that they
won in 1998. They have yet to achieve a world finals title in any format. On
each occasion that they have participate in a world championship competition,
they have been overwhelming favourites. The team perform throughout the tourney
only to ‘choke’ at the final hurdle.
With the T20 championship touching to the subcontinent this
year, South Africa led by AB de Villiers are again among the favourites to ground
the cup with a team that has maybe the best bowling line-up in the earth today
along with some of the big hitters of the cricket ball and useful all-rounder.
Strength: South Africa are maybe the only team that can brag
of a line-up that excel in all the departments of the game. Their batting comprise
some of the best T20 batsmen having knowledge in playing the subcontinent circumstances.
At the top they have the calming presence of Hashim Amla complement by the
brute force of big hitting Richard Levi.
Veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis has prove that age is not
the main factor that dictates who qualifies to be a T20 player. In his stint by
means of the Indian Premier League franchise, he has time and again display his
utility both as a batsman and as a bowler and his rich knowledge will surely
come useful in the middle order.
Their captain, AB de Villiers with his one-man show for his permit
Royal Challengers Bangalore turned a lot of a match in their favour with his blitz
knocks in the 2012 season.
In the bowling section they have world’s best pacer Dale
Steyn and spinner Johan Botha who is ranked as the third best T20 bowler following
England’s Graeme Swann and Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal.
Weakness: The only chink in their armoury happen to be the
absence of a specialist spinner. On the turning Sri Lankan tracks, a lethal
pace attack combined with an equally efficient spin department could have been
a mouth watering prospect but in the nonattendance of Imran Tahir appears to be
the only weak link in their group and they will have to rely on Robin Peterson
and Johan Botha.
Opportunities: With a majority of their squad member frequently
playing in the IPL, they do have the necessary experience of the circumstances
and some of them have excel under them (read AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis,
Jacques Kallis). The circumstances under the lights in Sri Lanka during the
recently finished SLPL have offered movement and move backward and forward for
the fast bowlers which be supposed to be good news for their pacers.
Threat: They have been placed in a group feature the host state
Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. So, qualifying to the knock out stage shouldn’t be a difficulty.
It is becoming a custom to preach them about how not to fall on the final
hurdle but all will depend on how well they deal with pressure situation in
crucial encounters.
AB de Villiers (captain), Albie Morkel, Dale Steyn, Faf du
Plessis, Farhaan Behardien, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Johan Botha, JP
Duminy, Justin Ontong, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne Morkel, Richard Levi, Robin
Peterson, Wayne Parnell.
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