Bowler Mohit Sharma says India's attack will focus on their own games, rather than the Proteas' star batsmen
India not intimidated by AB factor
India paceman Mohit Sharma says he will not be intimidated by the difficult task of bowling to South Africa’s star-studded batting line-up when the teams meet in a Twenty20 international on Friday.
Asked about how he would approach bowling to the likes of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy, Sharma said he would focus on himself rather than the imposing opposition.
“I feel when someone like AB de Villiers is batting, we think a lot about the batsman and forget our own strengths as a bowler,” Sharma told the BCCI.
“We also tend to experiment a lot at that time.
“If you back your strengths and execute your plans well, the results will be there to see.”
Sharma will have the advantage of local knowledge for the first T20, having played a lot of underage cricket at Dharamsala.
“The air is a little heavy here and it does bring about a difference in the bowling,” he said.
“It does get difficult to bowl when there is dew because it gets difficult to grip the ball and the ball comes a lot easier on to the bat and the ball stops swinging.
“But we do practice with a lot of wet balls to get used to such conditions.”
With the ICC World T20 to be played in India next March, the three-match T20 series between the Proteas and India will take on an extra edge.
Batsman Ajinkya Rahane said India wanted to “dominate South Africa".
“We are here to win the series,” he told the BCCI.
“We have had good practice sessions in Bengaluru and now we have a few to go in Dharamsala.”
Suresh Raina echoed his thoughts, suggesting the pressure would be on the tourists.
“South Africa might be under pressure because they would know that playing at home we are an aggressive and dangerous outfit,” Raina said.
“We have set high standards for ourselves and we are training really hard before the start of the series.
“They are a very good side and players from both sides have played a lot of matches together in the IPL.
“We have players who have always done well under pressure and I would say this series will be a challenging one. We need to concentrate on the process and keep things simple.”
The tourists are due to play three Twenty20 internationals and five one-day matches between October 2-25, before starting a four-Test series on November 5.