Desperate to shed the tag of chokers which has haunted them for long, South Africa will be keen to launch their World Cup campaign on a positive note.
The Proteas have never won the World Cup and Graeme Smith's men will undoubtedly leave no stone unturned to lay their hands on the coveted trophy.
South Africa have never reached a final of the megaevent, having been the losing semifinalist in 1992, 1999 and 2007, and their tendency to choke in crunch situations has compounded their misery.
But with a relatively young team and 11 members who are featuring in the World Cup for the first time, the South Africans reckon they will be able to break the jinx this time around.
Leggie Imran Tahir handed debut by South Africa in this match.
Both the teams are in a positive frame of mind ahead of their lung-opener at the Kotla which is staging its first international match since December 2009 when a one-dayer between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned due to a "dangerous" pitch.
Since then, much effort has gone into relaying the pitch under the supervision of ICC pitch consultant Andy Atkinson and nobody has a clue as to how the track will behave.
The South Africans will be relying heavily on the form and fitness of stalwart Kallis, who is returning to the squad after a rib injury.
Kallis, who is the number one all-rounder in ODI cricket with 11,002 runs and 259 wickets, has dispelled any concerns about his fitness, saying he has completely recovered from the injury.
Although South Africa boast of a good record against the West Indies in recent times, Kallis said both the teams were evenly balanced and the Proteas need to be on top of their game.
The Proteas have a formidable batting line-up as Smith, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy can tear any bowling attack to shreds on their day.
The bowling attack also looks quite balanced with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel spearheading the fast bowling department which also includes the young Wayne Parnell.
Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir are shouldering the spin bowling responsibility.
The West Indies have a relatively young team and much will depend on the seasoned Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan to put up a substantial score on the board.
The hard-hitting Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach, Darren Bravo and Dwayne Bravo are exciting cricketers and will need to play to their potential to keep the West Indies in the reckonin
0 comments