'We want to put up big performance against Indians'

Having survived three close finishes in group matches, South Africa will face a different test against India in their World T20 semifinal clash here on Friday.    

The South Africans will have to battle skills as much as the conditions. 

“We know it’s going to be a big challenge for us,” said JP Duminy after his team’s practice here on Tuesday. 

“Spinners have bowled exceptionally well against us. We want to put up a big performance against their (Indian) spinners. (We have) sort of played against them on a number of times but it’s a big game -- semifinal of a World Cup. It doesn’t get bigger than this,” remarked the left-hander.

Duminy plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL along with leg-spinner Amit Mishra who has been in fine form, emerging as the most successful bowler for India so far. 

 

“Look it’s not only me who has played against him but all the other guys have also played against him,” said Duminy when asked if the familiarity would work in his favour.

“You kind of know what to expect. He has been on top form for India in this tournament and we are definitely not going to take him lightly. We will do our homework and see that our game-plan is in order. We have been successful (against India) in the last few games but does not mean we will be successful again. We know that their spinners will be key components to their teams.”

The Proteas have played all their group matches in Chittagong where the heavy dew made bowling second a difficult task. 

“You can say it’s a bit of relief,” noted the southpaw. 

“Obviously, it was challenging for us. In two games we have had to deal with the dew factor. But I guess we were trying to find a way to get around it as there’s no need to complain about it or look for excuses. We have to find a way. I thought we did an exceptional job to defend that total against England. It was a big high for us. We had our game-plans in order and ways to get around the dew factor. (But) pretty happy to be in Dhaka and play in different conditions,” he explained.

Time and again, South Africa have fallen short of expectations attracting the chokers’ tag but Duminy tried to derive confidence from two narrow wins in the group stage over NZ and England. 

“We will be taking a lot of confidence from those games that we came on top of.”