What’s the Story?
South African captain Ab de Villiers has been declared fit for the crunch Group B encounter in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy against India at The Oval on Sunday.The official Twitter handle of Cricket Sout Africa provided the update on the right-hander’s fitness earlier this evening, stating that he was fit and raring to go.
In case you didn’t know...
The South African was to take a late fitness test to determine the extent of the hamstring injury that he sustained in the game against Pakistan on Wednesday and was seen limping back to the pavilion. He, however, did return a while later, much to the relief of several fans.
The heart of the matter
The Proteam right-hander has endured a difficult time with the bat in the competition so far, having made scores of 8 and 0 against Sri Lanka and South Africa respectively. In a game as important as the one on Sunday, he will need to come to the party for South Africa's sake as they look to make it through to the semifinal stage of the competition, for a second consecutive edition of the competition.
The Proteas defeated Sri Lanka comprehensively last Saturday, but succumbed to a defeat at the hands of Pakistan, via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to leave themselves in a must-win scenario against India on Sunday.
What’s next?
It now remains to be seen if de Villiers can come to the party against India on Sunday, in what is a must-win for both teams. India have never lost against South Africa in a Champions Trophy match, and he will need to play a big role in changing that record around on Sunday.
Author’s take
It certainly comes as a big boost for the Proteas that de Villiers has been declared fit to play the game. He will surely have a big role to play and in a knockout match, will look to come good.
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