South Africa snatched a victory from the jaws of certain defeat against New Zealand in their previous game in the World T20, and now the Proteas will look for a much more serene and comprehensive victory when they take on a Netherlands team still reeling from an absolute thumping in Chittagong.
[Read the report HERE]
Faf Du Plessis' team have been far from impressive in the World T20 so far - outclassed by Sri Lanka in the first match, and only managing to pick up a victory in the second against the Kiwis thanks to the unbelievable skills of Dale Steyn.
"The mood in the camp could have been completely different if we'd lost that game," Steyn said after his amazing last over saw the Proteas creep over the line. "I think it would have been tickets for us. In this tournament it is kind of tickets if you don't win all your games. It's difficult, the little one percenters.
"The little one percenters really count in this game. Just those little things, he might have walked away from the game feeling hard done by from not getting what he wanted but he finished off exactly how he was supposed to and ultimately we won the game."
To lay a marker for the rest of the tournament, South Africa will look to make a statement against the Netherlands, who were shot down for the record lowest total in T20Is by Sri Lanka on Monday, while also trying to boost that always-required net run rate a little bit more.
"We lost our first match so we know that we have to win every game that we play," Steyn added. "We can't be taking the Netherlands for granted despite what happened to them against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka have some good bowlers, it's difficult for the associates when they come up against quality teams like Sri Lanka.
"Without disrespecting them, I don't think the associates play against a lot of quality bowlers like that. When they come up against a situation like that it can be quite tricky."
Netherlands crashed to 39 all out against Sri Lanka, which was a little bit of a surprise as they were coming off an unbelievable run chase against Ireland, which helped them enter the Super 10s stage of the World T20.
But the gulf in class was evident against the Lankans, and it does not get any easier for them with Steyn and co. lying in wait on Thursday.
"We've done a bit of analysis and emotionally it was pretty tough. That evening, going back to the hotel, I think there were a few boys on suicide watch," Netherlands captain Peter Borren said jokingly. "But we woke up the next morning feeling pretty good, like it might have been a nightmare.
"We've had a little bit of time now, the boys have refocused and we're looking forward to making amends, showing we can play.
"We're very keen to compete, we've got three more games to do that and obviously in the first game we didn't compete at all. The team's in pretty good spirits and a big motivation for us is to show that we can play. We let ourselves down the other night."
Where to Watch Live:
World T20 2014: South Africa vs Netherlands Live TV and Streaming Information (Match starts 3.30 pm local time, 3 pm IST, 5.30 am ET, 9.30 am GMT)
Country | TV Broadcaster |
India | Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1 |
US and Latin America | ESPN |
Canada | Sportsnet |
UK and Ireland | Sky Sports |
Middle East and North Africa | OSN Sport Cricket |
Australia | Fox Sports |
Sub Saharan Africa & South Africa | SuperSport |
New Zealand | Sky Sport |
Europe | EuroSport |
Pakistan | PTV and Ten Sports |
Sri Lanka | CSN |
Bangladesh | Bangladesh TV, Maasranga TV and Gazi TV |
Country | Live Streaming links |
India | HERE |
US | HERE |
UK | HERE |
Middle East | HERE |
Canada | HERE or HERE |
Australia | HERE |
South Africa & Sub Saharan Africa | HERE |
Latin America | HERE |
New Zealand | HERE |
Europe | HERE |
Pakistan | HERE or HERE |
Sri Lanka | HERE |
Team news: South Africa: Wayne Parnell was forced to fly to Mumbai to be present at a court case, which ruled the left-arm pace bowler out. Morne Morkel was expensive against New Zealand, and South Africa might consider resting the big pace bowler.
Netherlands: Even if the Associate side suffered a heavy defeat, it is likely that the Dutch will go with the same XI that helped them reach this stage in the first place.
Expected lineups: South Africa: Quinton De Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf Du Plessis (capt), AB De Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir.
Netherlands: Michael Swart, Stephan Myburg, Wesley Barresi, Peter Borren (capt), Tom Cooper, Ben Cooper, Mudassar Bukhari, Logan Van Beek, Pieter Seelar, Timm Van Der Gugten, Ahsan Malik.