South Africa look to stay strong\, while Kohli looks to experience

SHOWS: SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND, UK (JUNE 4, 2019) (ICC - NO RESALES) 1.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FAF DU PLESSIS, SOUTH AFRICA CAPTAIN, SAYING: "There's a lot of injuries.

Zero from two.

So for myself, it's really important to stay strong.

The team will feed off my energy and they will look up to the leadership group in the team.

But I'm at the top of that so it is important that I stay positive, I stay strong, make sure I keep motivating the guys." 2.

WHITE FLASH 3 (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIRAT KOHLI, INDIA CAPTAIN, SAYING: "So, as I said, we need to bring all our experience to the play tomorrow to be able to make right decisions under pressure situations compared to the opposition.

And the team that makes better decisions is invariably going to win in an high pressure tournament like the World Cup." STORY: The absence of fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi is a serious setback for South Africa ahead of their crunch World Cup game against India, captain Faf du Plessis said on Tuesday (June 4).

Steyn was ruled out of the World Cup due to a second shoulder injury while fellow quick bowler Ngidi is still recovering from a hamstring problem.

South Africa, who lost to England and Bangladesh, are looking for their first win of the tournament on Wednesday against India who are ranked second in the world.

"There's a lot of injuries," Du Plessis told reporters during a training session at Southampton.

"Zero from two." "Naturally, guys will have a little bit of confidence that's been chucked away and that is normal, that is part of being human.

"But it's just making sure that we keep strong, keep fighting and stay true to ourselves as a team and a culture." South Africa have yet to win the 50 overs world title and Du Plessis said the options are limited with a depleted bowling attack against India who are playing their first game of the tournament.

"Either you decide if you want to go with all your all-rounders in one team, and have a long batting line-up and try and change your game plan a little bit and bat up until nine and hopefully you can get a big score, chase anything because you have a lot of batting or the two spinners," he said.

Steyn, 35, was injured during the Indian Premier League and missed the first two World Cup games.

He will be replaced by left-arm paceman Beuran Hendricks in South Africa's squad for the rest of the tournament.

Opponents India are banking on their experience and cannot take the opposition's depleted bowling attack lightly, captain Virat Kohli said on Tuesday, insisting the Proteas can call upon quality replacements.

Kohli's India are ranked second in the world and will be firm favourites as they begin their quest for a third World Cup triumph against a South African side that faces an uphill struggle after the loss of strike bowlers Steyn and Ngidi.

"We need to bring all our experience to the play tomorrow to be able to make right decisions in pressure situations," Kohli told reporters during a training session ahead of Wednesday's match in Southampton.

"So we never take anyone lightly, and whether a few key players get injured or not, if a youngster is stepping in and he has the right mindset, he can really perform on the day ... we need to maintain respect for that and focus on our strength and what we can do as a side." Kohli, who is captaining the Indian side for the first time in a World Cup, said his team's late start to the tournament allows them to learn from previous games and match conditions.

"From that point of view, we would say that we have a lot of positives that we can take out of starting after everyone else." India have won the World Cup in 1983 and 2011, while South Africa has never won the 50-over edition, but Kohli said this year's tournament presents a different challenge.

Kohli said the unique format of the 2019 tournament, in which every nation plays nine matches over more than a month, means that teams must adapt very quickly and that experienced teams will have an edge.

"The errors you would make when you are not that aware of game situations, they will slowly start to taper off as you play more and more cricket.

"When you have experienced people in your team who have also grown with you as cricketers, eventually you all start making good decisions, you have discussions, you think of the right thing, sometimes instinctively."