India v South Africa : Champions Trophy Epic


2017 ICC Champions Trophy

Group B - India v South Africa
Sunday, 11 June 2017

Kennington Oval, London

South Africa will battle reigning champions India for a place in the semifinals of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy when the teams meet at the Kennington Oval on Sunday, 11 June. South Africa started the tournament brightly by claiming a comfortable victory over Sri Lanka in their Group B opener, but on Wednesday they came unstuck in a rain-affected match against Pakistan and slumped to a 19-run defeat on the D/L method. This leaves AB de Villiers and his team needing a strong showing against the Indians to keep their tournament hopes alive. The Proteas may well opt to make changes in their line-up, with Wayne Parnell's poor form as an opening bowler likely to see him axed. Andile Phehlukwayo is an all-round replacement, but a smarter option on wearing pitches would be left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. India come into the game in similar shape to South Africa: they easily beat Pakistan in their opening match, but on Thursday they were unable to defend a score of 321 against Sri Lanka, blowing a great chance to seal a place in the semifinals with a game to spare.The combination of results means both Group B matches remaining are effectively quarterfinals - not good news for the Proteas, given their historical struggles in knockout matches at ICC tournaments. South Africa have a fine record against India in ODIs, with 45 victories (compared to India’s 28) from 76 matches. The teams have met just twice in England and have one victory apiece: the Proteas won by four wickets in the 1999 World Cup, and India won by 26 runs in the last ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. Neither side has performed particularly well at the Kennington Oval: SA have three wins and five losses from eight matches, while India have four wins, seven losses and one no result from 12 ODIs at the venue. The teams last met in ODIs in a five-match series in India in October 2015. The Proteas claimed a 3-2 win thanks to victories in Kanpur, Rajkot and Mumbai.

India v South Africa - head-to-head in all ODIs

Matches played 76
India wins 28
SA wins 45
Ties 0
No results 3

India v South Africa - head-to-head in ODIs in England

Matches played 2
India wins 1
SA wins 1
Ties 0
No results 0

India’s ODI record at Kennington Oval

Matches played 12
Wins 4
Losses 7
Ties 0
No results 1

SA’s ODI record at Kennington Oval

Matches played 8
Wins 3
Losses 5
Ties 0
No results 0

 

Published: 06/09/2017