Shaun Pollock backs Proteas to 'find a way' against India's bowling stars Bumrah and Chakaravarthy

Former Proteas captain Shaun Pollock believes India’s bowling unit hold the edge over the Proteas heading into their ICC Super Eights clash, but that Aiden Markram’s men ‘can still find a way’.

Pollock, who played in the inaugural T20 World Cup back in 2007, is in India as part of the broadcast commentary team and has followed both teams’ fortunes closely. 

The Proteas and India qualified for the Super Eights phase unbeaten after four matches and are closely matched in skill and experience, but Pollock feels the hosts’ bowling stars Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy provide altogether different sort of test. 

Bumrah has long been regarded as the finest fast bowler in the world, while mystery spinner Chakaravarthy is currently ranked the No 1 T20 bowler and has nine wickets at an average of 6.88 in this on-going T20 World Cup.

“I think South Africa and India have got personnel who can kind of match each other on a day. So Quinton (de Kock) can fire. He can match what Abhishek (Sharma) can do. Aiden (Markram) can fire. He can kind of match whoever,” Pollock said at the SuperSport ICC T20 Men’s World Cup Round Table on Thursday.

“I'm just saying when I look down at the lineups, I think for me, the point of difference is the two bowlers in Bumrah and Chakaravarthy. 

“Not saying that South Africa haven't got some quality, but it's just the rare nature of the way they kind of deliver the ball that gives them maybe that little bit of an edge.

“Bumrah is very unorthodox. He's got a wonderful wrist position. He bowls brilliantly in the Powerplays with a new ball, if he has to in the middle, and his death bowling is pretty exceptional as well. 

“And then who controls the middle overs for them? Chakaravarthy.

“When you talk about matchups. He's a guy who can, doesn't matter who's at the crease, whether it's left hand or right hand that comes to the crease, he is a guy who can dictate to him. So, I think they've just got a little bit of an edge over us in that department.”

However, Pollock believes that Markram’s team have the belief and capabilities to topple the defending champions in the Ahmedabad cauldron.

“I think this playing group in particular have gone where no one else has gone. They played in a final and they've got that experience of being involved in the heat of battle on the ultimate stage, which is it would have been a great learning curve for them,” Pollock said.

“I think that have learnt that they don’t have to produce the ultimate A+ game to win. And I think that's the biggest learning that you get. So that might be something that would have worked out is that, hey, we maybe weren't at our best in the game in Barbados, but there was a point in that game where actually we should have gone on and win it.

“And once you've experienced that, it's like a eureka moment for them. So the fact that they've been in a final, the fact that they had India in a position where they could have gone on to win it, those are actually positives, although it didn't happen. It's positive learnings.

“And you often hear them in the press conferences talk about learnings and you think, oh, that's a bit cliche. But those experiences are definitely something that you learn from and you go, hey, hold on, we might not even be at our best and we got into a position to win that game. So that gives them a different sort of belief. I believe that South Africa can find a way.”