After a dramatic loss against Pakistan, AB de Villiers was left gutted. "I've nothing good to say about the team," he'd said immediately after the loss. That soon changed to 'We are the best team in the tournament' after a couple of days of introspection and recovery. South Africa will be keen to tell themselves that their campaign is still on track. They need a convincing victory and playing against UAE provides them with that opportunity. A chance to show that they are still a very, very good side. No doubting the quality or caliber of players present in the side but a few of them need to step up. They cannot afford to field a few of the benched players now and will be looking to get into the knockouts with the momentum of a big win. For UAE this is another chance to showcase their talent but they will be wary of the backlash from South Africa.
South Africa vs United Arab Emirates, 36th Match, Pool B - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
UAE fed Rossouw with a series of 'hit-me' balls and the left-hander had probably the easiest starts to an innings. A flurry of boundaries followed and South Africa were away. de Kock was a lot more circumspect. Understandably so. He needs to dig in to find form. Ideal conditions though. No excuses if he can't do so today
The two sides met once before in the 1996 World Cup. No prizes for guessing who the victors were. There were two takeaways from that game. The first one was Gary Kirsten's 188 which was the highest individual score in World Cups until Gayle blasted a double ton. The second is the fascinating tale of how UAE skipper Sultan Zarawani went out to face a menacing Allan Donald without a helmet. 'White Lightning' had his ego bruised and naturally hurled down a bouncer and poor Zarawani was felled.