Men-in-blue to begin World Cup journey against injury-hit South Africa today
Southampton, Jun 5 (IBNS): Two-time world champions India will face injury-hit South Africa at The Rose Bowl here to begin their World Cup journey on Wednesday.
South Africa received a huge blow as their main pace bowler Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the entire tournament due to shoulder injury. On the other hand, Lungi Ngidi is yet to recover from his injury to play the match against India.
However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli is not taking his opponent lightly despite the losses of the Proteas.
"South Africa is very talented and dangerous on their day. Even they will be a very strong side with their replacements. We never take anyone lightly. A youngster can really perform if he comes in with the right mindset on the day. So I think we need to maintain respect for that and really approach the game focusing on our strengths and what we can do as a side," Kohli said at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Expressing grief over Steyn's missing out of the World Cup, the Indian skipper added, "I feel bad for him because he has been a friend for a long time. He is a very motivated guy and he was very happy to come back for South Africa. He has been doing really well. And he has the hunger and passion in him still but those niggles and injuries are just not going in his way and I can understand his frustration about that. I wish him a speedy recovery. Of late he was in a great mental space. I feel bad for him."
India have won the World Cup for two times so far. The first time it was lifted by Kapil Dev in 1983 and the second time India won it under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2011. Dhoni, who is not the captain anymore, is still a crucial player for the team. Even during the practice match against Bangladesh, Dhoni slammed a hundred raising the hope of his fans for a great tournament ahead.
Obviously, Kohli will be leading the Indian side for the first time in a World Cup in 2019. Regarding his feeling to lead the side, Kohli said: "I am just feeling grateful that I am in this position to have the opportunity to lead my country in a tournament like World Cup. It is always going to be a time to remember and a special feeling. I am really looking forward to the challenge."
Not just his captaincy, Kohli's batting will also be key to India's success in the tournament. Apart from batsmen, the Indian team are backed by a strong bowling unit comprised of frontline pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Earlier in the tournament, South Africa suffered a stunning defeat in the hands of Bangladesh who clinched the match by 21 runs.
The India-South Africa match is scheduled to begin at 3 pm.
Images: twitter.com/BCCI
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
