South Africa’s in-form batsmen dangerous for opposition: Du Plessis

Mumbai, March 17 (IANS) South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis believes their in-form batsmen are a real threat to the opposition when they launch their World Twenty20 campaign against an inexperienced England side in a Group 1 clash at the Wankhede Stadium here on Friday.

The Proteas come into the match after back-to-back victories against India and local side Mumbai in warm-up matches.

Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla at the top along with AB de Villiers, David Miller, Jean-Paul Duminy, Du Plessis and all-rounders Chris Morris and David Wiese make up a formidable batting line-up capable of destroying any attack.

“Definitely, AB is in good form at the moment and playing some good cricket. And past performances plays a massive role when you come to the ground. Few of us did well against India in the final match in ODI series, and you use that to reflect on and try to repeat that performance,” Du Plessis said at a press conference here.

“Looking forward to see what AB does for us in the tournament, but as I mentioned we have a few guys who are looking good and whole batting line up looks in good form and it is a dangerous sign for the opposition, it’s just about putting together on the day,” he said.

It will be a must-win game for England, as they lost to the West Indies by six wickets in their first group match on Wednesday, thanks to Chris Gayle's unbeaten 100.

A loss against South Africa might make it tough for the Englishmen to qualify for the semi-finals. South Africa will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign.

When asked if South Africa will take advantage of that fact that England will be under pressure after the loss to the Windies, the 31-year-old said "Just a little bit of pressure on team that lost first game. Nice to get opportunity to play second game. Learn some lessons from the game we played here."

“Make sure we can put early pressure on them. Implement. They will be under pressure. It is important to put early pressure on them, they will definitely feel the heat,” Du Plessis concluded.