Duminy: Proteas wary of India spinners

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Cricket365
April 1, 2014

South Africa are preparing for a strong spin onslaught from India in their semi-final of the World Twenty20 in Dhaka on Friday.

The Proteas held their first training session on Tuesday afternoon since arriving in the Bangladesh capital, and set about honing their skills and strategy ahead of the clash against their sub-continent opponents.

"We know it's going to be a big challenge for us," JP Duminy said at a media session. "Their spinners have been doing exceptionally well in this tournament but I think we have the armoury to put in a big performance against their spinners.

"We know what to expect, we have played against them a number of times and we have had good success against them. We know its semi-final time in a World Cup, it doesn't get bigger than this; so we are going to have to produce something good."

Imran Tahir is the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 scalps, and is followed closely behind by India's Amit Mishra, who has nine.

The dew hasn't been a factor in the matches played in Dhaka, but the wickets have been conducive to spin compared to the seam friendly environment in Chittagong.

"The conditions here are different," Duminy said. "There isn't much dew around and the wicket takes a bit more turn. We are going to have to prepare accordingly, we know we are predominately going to face spin against India."

The Proteas are still on a high from their performances in the group stage, particularly their convincing win against England to seal their semi-final spot.

Those performances, however, will count for nothing on Friday, as both teams start from zero with an opportunity for a place in the final.

"It's a new game, whatever has happened is in the past," Duminy explained. "We are up for the challenge and hopefully we will come up on top.

"The highs you have gone through during the tournament count for nothing now," he added. "Yes, you will take confidence from a lot of performances but in the end it comes down to putting in the performance on the day."