South Africa turn their sights on India

Like every team tip-toeing though their first cautious steps at a major tournament, South Africa have promised not to look too far ahead by focusing on one game at a time and treating every one of those with the seriousness of a final. All that genteel talk is a guise for their real strategy which looks past the tournament opener against Zimbabwe and zones in on what South Africa have identified as the must-win match of the opening round, against India, who Russell Domingo seems to think are ripe for the picking on February 22nd.

After South Africa wrapped up a 4-1 series win over West Indies, Domingo declared his men "more confident" than India or Sri Lanka and on their departure reiterated that by describing South Africa's superior preparation.

"I'd much rather be at home than spend two months in Australia prior to the World Cup. It worked out great that we had six weeks there and then came back home," Domingo said. "I'm sure it would have been challenging for a side like India, being there for so long and then still another two months with the World Cup."

India have already been on the road for half the lifespan of a butterfly but have yet to undergo a transformation similar to the one the winged creature does from a state of helplessness to full flight. They failed to win any of the four Tests and four ODIs they played and did not qualify for the final of the triangular series which also involved England. Their usually strong batting line-up has not fired and Domingo has designs on stubbing them out even further.

"There will be some venues and some teams where we would consider five specialist bowlers," he said. "Teams like India, where they perceived strength is definitely their batting line-up - they have some world class players in their line-up and the MCG is a pretty good batting wicket - so I think bowling strength will be important against sides like India."

South Africa's first-choice XI consists of three frontline quicks and a specialist spinner, with the fifth-bowler duties being shared between the offspin of JP Duminy and the medium-pace of Farhaan Behardien, but they have two extra seamers in the squad, Kyle Abbott and Wayne Parnell, who may be unleashed against India. That would mean South Africa foregoing a seventh specialist batsmen, who Domingo all-but confirmed they would play in every other game.

"There are games where batters will come under pressure, particularly chasing, and having that extra depth in batting with the perceived length of the tail we have - guys at nine, ten and eleven, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir, are more bowlers than allrounders," he said. "To have the extra batsman at number seven will be important for us."

Despite a long tail and a lack of a big-hitting finisher in the lower middle-order - David Miller has been moved up to No. 5 - Domingo has confidence in South Africa's ability to hunt down tall targets in a time where scores over 300 are becoming commonplace. "It's not long ago that we chased down 330 against Australia," he said, referring to the triangular tournament played last August. "We have got a wonderful top order and our middle order is starting to come good."

And when they don't, Domingo backs the bowlers to make up for it. "If you're chasing 500 you're going to be under pressure," he said. "It's going to be a team effort and we don't rely on a particular skill. If our bowlers let us down one day, which is going to happen, the batsmen have to help them out because there will be days when the batsmen let the bowlers down. It's not going to be a batters or bowlers World cup, it's going to be the team that plays consistently as a unified team that comes out on top."

South Africa have made the collective a strength, not just with a send-off which saw thousands of people, including former players and pundits, bid them farewell, but through recent performances. AB de Villiers explained how the series against West Indies highlighted that. "We gained a lot of confidence out of good performances as a team. The individual performances are driven by the team. Me scoring runs, Hashim scoring hundreds, Dale getting wickets, Immi doing well - those are all team driven," he said, before admitting that South Africa will need to rely on each other more than most because on their shoulders rests the heaviest expectation.

"Yes, we are feeling pressure and there's no hiding from that. We've never won a World Cup and it's something that's counting against us. People are calling us chokers. There's no hiding from that. We've got to stick together and make sure we win those big pressure situations."