India, SA square off as Pakistan face early exit

Group 2 leaders India face South Africa in a top-of-the-table tussle on a pacey pitch at the Optus Stadium in Perth today, while a downtrodden Pakistan side have no option but to win against the Netherlands in order to keep semifinal hopes alive at the same venue.

India, on the back of consecutive wins, have all the momentum and would be at ease as all three departments have so far clicked for Rohit Sharma's side.

The top-order with the exception of opener KL Rahul has come to the party, with the skipper scoring a fifty against Netherlands and Virat Kohli being in supreme form.

A rollicking batting effort against the Dutch, where even Suryakumar Yadav starred, reinforced with clinical bowling has all but polished their semifinal ambitions but they face a hefty challenge against an on-song South African side that have a point to prove after failing to make the final four the last time around.

Boasting one of the strongest bowling line-ups in the tournament, the Protea pacers will look to capitalise on all the help the Perth pitch has to offer. The pace attack of Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, and Wayne Parnell have come through for South Africa in their opening two matches and will look to do a repeat against India.

Temba Bavuma's men would feel hard done by losing a point against Zimbabwe due to a washout but they battered Bangladesh in a 104-run win in the following match. But against India, the Proteas have to prove their title credentials against the top-side of the group.

Top-order batsman Rilee Rossouw is in red-hot form, scoring back-to-back centuries in T20Is, and will face a familiar foe in India as the two sides met in a white-ball series in India earlier this month.

Opener Quinton de Kock has provided the fireworks up top, while the experienced David Miller in the middle-order is in charge of late surges.

Meanwhile, a struggling Pakistan are yet to register a win in the tournament, losing to India in the opening fixture and then succumbing to an upset against Zimbabwe in the second, and now Babar Azam's troops are on the verge of elimination as they eye a fightback against a relatively feeble Netherlands, who have lost back-to-back matches against Bangladesh and India.

While their bowling has delivered the goods, Pakistan have carried a misfiring middle-order to the tournament and their dependence on Babar and Mohammad Rizwan is putting constraints on their ambitions, an opening that the Dutch pacers would be hoping to exploit.