Proteas and England look to shrug off last-game defeats to the Netherlands and Afghanistan respectively as they face off at Wankhede Stadium today; Mumbai venue all set to host their first game of the tournament
South Africa players indulge in a game of football during their practice session at Wankhede yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble
England and South Africa are sailing in the same boat ahead of their today’s encounter at the Wankhede Stadium. Both teams are aiming to bounce back after defeats in their last games.
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The Jos Buttler-led English team suffered a humiliating 69-run loss to Afghanistan in New Delhi on Sunday while Temba Bavuma’s side were outclassed by The Netherlands by 38 runs at Dharamsala earlier in the week.
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Only one win for England
England, who have only one triumph in the tournament—against Bangladesh on October 10, want to capitalise on good memories of the Wankhede Stadium, where they beat the Proteas by two wickets in a high-scoring game during the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Jos Buttler
Buttler, who scored a 14-ball 21 in that close match, recalled: “[It was] an absolutely fantastic game. One of my favourite games that I think had a lot of value in terms of where we were going as a team. So, great memories of that night, albeit a long time ago,” said Buttler during the pre-match press conference on Friday.
The England captain also made it clear that they will continue playing fearless cricket to put the opposition under pressure.
“We want to find ways to put the opposition under pressure in lots of different ways. That doesn’t always mean hitting fours and sixes, it means can we push back when the opposition is on top or can we really take the initiative in different ways? And that’s what we want to live by as a team,” Buttler explained.
England players celebrate after their T20 World Cup match against South Africa at Wankhede on March 18, 2016. Pic/Getty Images
In-form Quinton de Kock has already scored a couple of centuries in the tournament, while Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen have a hundred each to their name. Pacers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen are leading SA’s bowling charts with seven and six wickets respectively.
‘They’re good team’
“I think they [SA] have been playing some really good cricket. Obviously, it’s a very strong top six and pace is one of their strengths. They’re good team. You always expect a tough challenge when you play South Africa and it’s going to be a brilliant game,” Buttler added.
Like Buttler, Bavuma too wanted to forget the last game quickly. “We’ve put that [defeat to the Netherlands] behind us. We’ve obviously got the challenge of England starting and we are preparing to get ourselves in the right mental state, physically as well, to play our best cricket,” said Bavuma, who will be eager to play his first game at Wankhede.
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