Cricket World Cup Column: South Africa Have No Option But To Beat India, Says Jacques Kallis

It바카라™s disappointing and frustrating and there is lots of pressure on the next game, otherwise, the tournament could be over before it바카라™s really started for South Africa.

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The good news is we have another game in just three days, so South Africa can바카라™t dwell on this, they will just have move on.

It doesn바카라™t get any easier though against India but it바카라™s their first game and our third, so maybe that could give us the edge we need.

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They바카라™ve not played for a week and maybe they바카라™ll be some first game nerves, whereas we are settled. Strange things happen in this sport and if we can get a win then I think we can go on a streak and we are still good enough to be a contender.

There will be no margin for error though. I think you바카라™ll need six wins, maybe five with a really good run rate, to finish in the top four, so South Africa almost need to win every game they will play.

I think you바카라™ve got to give credit to Bangladesh for the way they performed, it바카라™s amazing how far they바카라™ve come as a team in a very short space of time and the way they batted was particularly impressive.

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Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I understand what Faf du Plessis was doing with the toss and playing the extra pace bowler. However, the wicket just didn바카라™t allow it and perhaps he stuck with the tactics a bit too long and should have started bowling a little fuller and straighter.

Bangladesh got all their partnerships going and once you get over 300 then it always becomes a tough chase, letting them score 50 or so runs in the final four overs really didn바카라™t help either and ultimately proved the difference.

It바카라™s great having a game plan but you need to have a back-up when it바카라™s not working, I felt we were one step behind the entire match and just tactically a bit off. We need to be a bit smarter.

Bangladesh took it on and were aggressive and the wicket really suited their bowling too. I was really impressed by Shakib Al Hasan, he바카라™s a seriously talented and clever cricketer.

The injury to Lungi Ngidi certainly didn바카라™t help Faf, he바카라™s a world-class player and a big part of our attack. You바카라™ve got to play Dale Steyn against India now, and hopefully, he is close to fitness.

We바카라™ve got to play all our cards and we can바카라™t afford any more silly mistakes at vital stages - these are the best sides in the world and they바카라™ll always punish you. 

(Courtesy: ICC)