Things have not started well for South Africa in this World Cup. Coming into the tournament to shed the tag of chokers and win the trophy for the first time, the Faf du Plessis-led side has struggled in almost every department. South Africa have already lost their first three games, including a surprise defeat to Bangladesh.

Now, in a bid to push their stay in the tournament, the Proteas would take on West Indies, who will be returning to the tournament after losing their second fixture by 15 runs against Australia. Both teams will look to bounce back from the setback.

Here are the top five players battles that are likely to highlight South Africa vs West Indies:

Chris Gayle vs Kagiso Rabada

The best bit about the World Cup tournament is that fans get to see some of the exciting cricketing rivalries come to fore. Much will be the case in Monday’s fixture with Kagiso Rabada, who has been in excellent nick at the moment, bowling against, perhaps, the best heavy hitter in the entire World Cup - Chris Gayle. Rabada threatened India openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in Proteas’ previous World Cup game. He would look to cause more trouble to Windies opening pair, considering Gayle possesses the strength and talent to take the game away from the opposition.

Jason Holder vs Faf du Plessis

This will be a classic skipper vs skipper battle when Jason Holder bowls to Faf du Plessis. The Proteas skipper is not enjoying a great tournament so far and is struggling to get runs on the board. Du Plessis would love to get past his failings and score big to register the win for his side. But Holder has developed himself as a strong bowling option in the middle overs, who has the ability to slow down the pace of the opposition and break partnerships. Plessis, who struggles against slow bowling, could find him hard to deal with.

Sheldon Cottrell vs Hashim Amla

Hashim Amla has recovered from his injury and his presence gives South Africa a solid opening pair to work with. But this is where the battle with Sheldon Cottrell gets interesting. The seamer is excellent against the frontline batsmen and has dismissed the likes of David Warner and Imam-ul-Haq in the tournament. Amla has been struggling off late, especially against deliveries outside off stump, which was exposed by Jasprit Bumrah in their previous game. Cottrell would look to take the advantage of the same.

Oshane Thomas vs Quinton de Kock

Another great bowling option in West Indies’ arsenal is Oshane Thomas. The seamer picked up four wickets against Pakistan, dismantling the middle-order. Asked to open the bowling against Aussies, Thomas dismissed skipper Aaron Finch and the dangerous Steve Smith. But Quinton de Kock enjoys batting against seamers, as has been witnessed in the previous edition of IPL. De Kock would hope to get past Thomas and gets runs on the board for his side.

There is no doubt that Nicholas Pooran has been the best batsmen in the West Indies side this tournament so far. The left-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 19-ball 34 against Pakistan and then scored a half century against Australia. Pooran also has the ability to hit big shots, without taking unnecessary risks much like other Windies batsmen. He failed to finish the game against Aussies, but would hope to do the same against Proteas. But Pooran’s was seen struggling against spinner Adam Zampa, and could fce similar troubles against the vastly experienced Imran Tahir.

First Published: Jun 10, 2019 11:26 IST