India are fresh, South Africa are battered, but when the sides clash, previous results will not matter. Players will matter, how they perform when the pressure is amplified will matter and how the different captains adapt and adjust depending on the situation will matter.

For India, the biggest threat will be Quinton de Kock - 11 of his 14 hundreds have come in wins for South Africa, and four of them have been against India. So, what should Kohli do?

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He could look to employ his leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal early in the piece - de Kock has been dismissed twice in the 17 balls he has faced from Yuzvendra Chahal and averages just 5 at a strike-rate of 52.9.

The conditions at Southampton are expected to be murky and cloudy which could make Virat Kohli play Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the third seamer in the side. Now this is the chance for South Africa, as their batsmen have been successful against the seamer over the years.

Aiden Markram has a strike rate of 114.6 against Bhuvi, while captain Faf du Plessis has looted him at a strike rate 130.8 and an average of 85 over six innings. Hashim Amla, who should be back after missing the previous match, has a strike rate of 72.4 over 12 innings while Quinton de Kock has absolutely galloped along and scored 144 runs off 140 balls and has been never been dismissed.

For Virat Kohli, spinners can be the trump cards as South Africa are not too thrilled against the wrist spinners. Barring the skipper, South African batsmen have been miserable against Kuldeep Yadav - they average less than 15 against him while the spinner has taken a wicket every 18 balls.

‘We can discuss it man-to-man’: Virat Kohli on Kagiso Rabada’s ‘immature’ jibe

First Published: Jun 05, 2019 13:30 IST