South Africa v West Indies, ICC World Twenty20, The Oval

Inspired West Indies look for encore


As challenges go, it's about as tough as it can get: less than a day after convincingly getting the better of one of the tournament favourites, West Indies need to gear themselves up to take on another. The unkind scheduling means Chris Gayle and Co have less than 18 hours between games against India and South Africa, but so comprehensive was their victory on Friday that they'll back themselves to do an encore when they take on South Africa at The Oval on Saturday.

Dwayne Bravo was scintillating against India, Fidel Edwards showed plenty of fire with his short-pitched bowling with the new ball, and Lendl Simmons' cool head ensured the experience and skill of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan was hardly needed. The challenge is to reproduce the same levels of intensity, for nothing less will do against a side which is on a hot streak, and is looking to become the first team to win six Twenty20 internationals on the trot.

South Africa, along with Sri Lanka, have been the form team of the tournament so far. Unlike the mercurial and unpredictable West Indies, the South Africans take pride in their consistency, and have shown that it takes plenty for them to be beaten, even in a 20-over game. The bowlers have been outstanding, rescuing what seemed a lost cause against New Zealand, and the batting has plenty of depth and class. Can West Indies upset the form book twice in two days?

Watch out for...

Dwayne Bravo had a dream game against India, and he'll have only 17 hours to recover for the next big challenge. Bravo is a big-match player, though - expect him to be up for that challenge.

Herschelle Gibbs: In a team with hardly any kinks, Gibbs has been the off-colour player so far, scoring only 49 in three innings. He is due a big score.

Gayle v Steyn: Steyn has taken four wickets at 5.63 per over so far in the tournament, while Gayle has the highest score in an innings. The outcome of their clash could be one of the keys to the result of the game.

Team news

So smooth was South Africa's execution in every aspect against England, that they are almost certain to field the same XI.

South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Kallis, 3 Herschelle Gibbs, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Mark Boucher (wk), 7 Albie Morkel, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Wayne Parnell, 11 Dale Steyn.

West Indies had chosen Lendl Simmons over Xavier Marshall against India, and that choice worked perfectly for them, with Simmons being outstanding in the field and scoring a vital 44. They're most likely to go with the same team too.

West Indies: (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Andre Fletcher, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Lendl Simmons, 7 Kieron Pollard, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Fidel Edwards, 11 Suleiman Benn.