Auckland : New Zealand and South Africa will be facing each other in their maiden semi-final match here on Tuesday (6.30 am IST). New Zealand will be playing their seventh semi-final and they not only need to overcome the pressure of expectations but also a resilient South Africa.
A.B. de Villers’ men are eager not to suffer again the agonies of failing at the penultimate hurdle — which they have done thrice already.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is also wary of the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd. “When you are going through a good patch it is great to have the crowd on your side,” McCullum said. His team has gone through the pool stage undefeated and opener Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 237 overwhelmed the West Indies by 143 runs in the quarter-final. But come Tuesday, he knows there is no room for error against the Proteas.
So far in this World Cup, New Zealand have been spot on — be it with the bat or the ball — with each and every player stepping up when the situation demanded.
But the Proteas have a strong batting line-up. Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, skipper de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy and David Miller have the abilities to milk any bowling outfit on their day. If co-hosts New Zealand prefer a greenish pitch, which will suit their opening bowlers Tim Southee and Terent Boult, South Africa will also look to give New Zealand the taste of their own medicine.
The Proteas pacers are capable of extracting swing, pace and bounce and can be fearsome on a responsive Eden Park pitch. They won four matches in the pool stage and humbled 1996 World Cup winners Sri Lanka with a seven-wicket victory in the quarter-finals. However, New Zealand will test South Africa’s batting that has been traditionally fragile while chasing targets, particularly in big matches. Moreover, the hosts will take confidence from the fact that they have defeated the African unit in all the last three meetings at the World Cup.
“There has been a lot of emphasis on our past and South Africa not doing well at World Cups. We don’t mind that too much. Honestly I’m not putting emphasis on that at this World Cup at all,” de Villiers said. — IANS
