Proteas wary of the Gayle warning

You would not expect the Nagpur groundsman to do South Africa any favours, not after the 20m of day-old chapati he prepared for the Test they played against India there in November.

Even the International Cricket Council (ICC), condemned that surface as “poor” – forever tainting the victory India achieved to clinch the series.

So, when South Africa returned to the city at India’s geographical centre this week ahead of a World T20 match against West Indies today, they thought they knew what they were in for.

“When we got here on the first day of practice the wicket was very dry and we just prepared ourselves accordingly to play on it,” Faf du Plessis said yesterday. But that was before Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s pitch consultant, took action.

The pitch originally selected for today’s game was apparently the same strip used in a WT20 game on Tuesday last week: New Zealand dwindled to a total of 126/7 and India were dismissed for 79.

Six of the 12 bowlers who turned their arms over that day were spinners. They claimed 11 of the 17 wickets and had a collective economy rate of 5.13. So, at Atkinson’s suggestion, another – presumably faster – pitch was chosen for today.

“I assume that the reason they’re changing it is to not be as dry or not to spin as much as it possibly could have on that dry surface,” Du Plessis said.

“But it’s still two teams competing and possibly it’s going to be a spinning deck, so I don’t think too much will change,” he added.

Whether that means South Africa will stick with Russell Domingo’s heavy hint earlier this week that they would play both their frontline spinners, Imran Tahir and Aaron Phangiso, is keenly anticipated.

But what hasn’t changed is that SA need to win if they are to retain serious hopes of reaching the semifinals.

They have lost only once – to England in their opening game – but the cut-throat format of the tournament means that two losses will likely remove a side from the equation for a place in the final four.

Adaptability, Du Plessis said, was key to SA staying on track.

“We do rely as a team on being smart and to make the correct decisions on whatever the surface is on the day,” he said.

“As a team we do that very well, especially as a batting unit – we adapt quickly and we’re smart in our decision-making.

“Obviously they are a power-hitting team, so they realise their strength and also their weakness. But for us it’s about being the smartest ones on the day,” he added.

West Indies and New Zealand are the only unbeaten teams in the tournament, but the Windies have two to play including today’s game.

So their foot will be firmly on the gas – and they will have big-hitting Chris Gayle back in harness, following a hamstring scare.

But Windies captain Darren Sammy warned SA not to focus all their attention on Gayle.

“We have 15 match winners,” Sammy said. “Yes, Chris is our biggest player. But there’s no pressure on him to perform. We as a group know what we have.”

SA will have to make do without JP Duminy, who has been ruled out with a hamstring strain.

“People will see how important JP is to our team now that he’s missing,” Du Plessis said. “He’s an allrounder who, especially in these conditions, plays a role with both bat and ball – and that’s not even talking about his experience.”

The time for talk is done.

It’s time for South Africa to win – or, probably, pack their bags.