Neil McKenzie wary of threat posed by Ravichandran Ashwin

India lost to Sri Lanka in their second game of the Champions Trophy which has added to the excitement to the last round of fixtures in Group B. The final two games in  Group B, are sort of virtual quarter-finals. One of those is between two of the pre-tournament favourites, with the winner booking a spot in semi-finals while the loser would have to book a flight back home.

Need to bring back Ashwin into the mix

India decided to go with Ravindra Jadeja against Sri Lanka. Considering the fact Sri Lanka had 4 left-handers in their top 7, it was a risky move and it backfired with Jadeja conceding 52 in 6 overs. South Africa have 3 left-handers in their top 6 so it’s imperative that the experienced off-spinner, Ashwin might get a look in.

South Africa‘s batting coach Neil McKenzie also feels that Ravichandran Ashwin, who can take the ball away from the left-handers would be the preferred choice against his team.

“When it comes to strategy, Ashwin against left-handers should be preferred choice but I think there’s quality at both ends and you need two good performances at the end of the day,” McKenzie said as quoted by the Times of India

However, former South African seemed confident and said his team is more than capable of tackling Indian spinners well. He pointed out that the Proteas had fared well against Indian spinners in India-South Africa series in 2015.

McKenzie admits that stakes are high

India are defending champions while South Africa are current world No.1 in the ODI Rankings. McKenzie admitted that stakes were going to be very high in India vs South Africa game. He said that a defeat would be difficult to digest for either team as both were branded as pre-tournament favourites.

McKenzie admitted that both the teams could have done a better job at closing out the group but also warned that it would be dangerous to judge either team on the basis of one bad outing.

“Both sides realise that they didn’t take advantage of the situation they were in and would like to capitalize on chances having played a lot with and against each other. But one performance doesn’t make us an average side. We have had some great performances.” Mckenzie further added

As McKenzie pointed out stakes would be high on Sunday when defending champions India take on the world no.1 South Africa.