South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad feels India will be under a lot of pressure in their opening Super 8 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (February 22). He feels that the men in blue are not only expected to win vs South Africa but also make it to the semis and finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup and that pressure can play into Proteas’ hands.
Conrad is hoping that his team can expose the hosts on the pressure front when they face each other on Sunday. “There’s so much scrutiny, especially a side like India. They’re going to be under a lot of pressure to make the semi-finals and obviously go on and make the finals as well. Hopefully, we can expose them and make them vulnerable under that pressure,” he said in the press conference.
India tour in 2025 helped us, says Conrad
The head coach of the Proteas team also looked back at South Africa’s tour of India last year, when they lost the five-match T20I series 3-1. However, Conrad used the tour as a recce and is ready to show what his side has learnt from those losses.
“That tour gave us a really good insight as to what we could be up against. That tour prepped us really well in terms of the hostility, the fervour that’s being built up around Sunday where we could have 130,000 people crammed into the stadium and they’re going to be in blue. But Sunday is just one of the few matches that we have to win to get through, and we’re as well prepared as we can be,” Conrad added.
He also noted that pressure plays a big role in must-win matches of a cricket World Cup. “Pressure is a big thing but it’s pressure both for us and them. I think we all talk about the pressure of playing against the top side, but we’re not quite aware of what the pressures they are under,” Conrad added.
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