Head-scratching before head-butting

Teams prepare for a 20-20 kind of scenario, spread over two days, as rain threat looms large

The arched eyebrows after Ireland and Bangladesh8217;s qualification to the Super Eights have settled down. Call it snobbery of the elite teams or past inconsistency of the minnows, there is a general perception that the second round of the World Cup actually means a fight for supremacy among the remaining Super Six for the last four spots.

So is the case with the Sri Lanka-South Africa game tomorrow. One big win could see the star teams just a step away from the semi-finals. While the rankings are taken quite seriously when it comes to undermining the minnows, it still boils down to the performance on the D-Day that would decide the match result when it comes to the big teams.

South Africa, anyway, have a tough time convincing the world that they actually are the top-ranked team in the world.

But if one banks on the form book, it has to be the Islanders from the Indian Ocean who are at home in the West Indies. With the India-scalp under their belt and an all-win record in the group stage, they have an edge over South Africa who lost the runathon against Australia. Besides, the conditions in the West Indies have shown that Sri Lanka are more on a familiar ground than South Africa. Cramps to Graeme Smith during that 378-run chase against Australia showed how alien conditions can prove to be the turning point in a game.

But Guyana provides a level-playing field for both teams. The prediction of an overtly overcast week suggests that heat wouldn8217;t be a factor and the lack of an exaggerated bounce on the newly-laid pitch means that it wouldn8217;t even be advantage South Africa.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene speaking about the pitch said: 8220;It looks a bit different from the wicket at Trinidad. It Trinidad was obviously bouncier with a bit of grass on it and did a bit throughout the day. This one does not have that much of grass. It looks pretty flat. I don8217;t know if it will favour us,8221; he said.

The rain threat might also see this game being reduced to a 20-20 kind of a game spread over two days and this could turn out to be a trailer of the super-abridged World Cup that South Africa will host later this year. South African captain Smith did foresee a reduced overs, two-day one-dayers.

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8220;It8217;s something we have discussed. It8217;s about getting 40 overs in two days if the weather is going to carry on like this. We8217;ve got a lot of options. Most of our guys are pretty comfortable with a 20-over each game. If that does happen, I8217;m sure we8217;ll be able to adapt to it. Hopefully, it won8217;t reach that stage and we8217;ll get a full game of cricket,8221; he said.

With somebody like Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara in form and South African bowlers coming after a recent mauling by another left-hander Matthew Hayden, a 20-20 kind of scenario would be traumatic.

But Smith sounded bullish: 8220;In South Africa, you might try and restrict a team to three runs an over, but here it could be five or five and a half runs if the wickets are good. The bowlers will be under pressure. We8217;ll work on game plans and strategies for guys like Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.8221;

Plus the South African need a strategy against the two of the most unique bowlers 8212; Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan 8212; in world cricket today. A lot of head-scratching is expected in the South African team meeting tonight.