Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis anticipates that India's Kuldeep Yadav will be their primary weapon against the Proteas' batting lineup. Du Plessis, speaking in the lead-up to the India-South Africa match at Eden Gardens, shed light on why Kuldeep Yadav has evolved into a formidable threat over the past year and a half.
"Kuldeep Yadav will be India's weapon of choice against South Africa. Kuldeep has improved a lot of the past few years. When I played against Kuldeep 2/3 years ago, it always felt like he was bowling a bit slow. He obviously had lots of variations but what has changed over the last year is that he is bowling quicker, a little bit flatter now and players have much less time to react to him," Faf du Plessis said on Star Sports.
Du Plessis also expressed his belief that South African batsman Aiden Markram may face challenges when dealing with the spinner on the Kolkata pitch but showed confidence in Heinrich Klaasen's ability to perform well against Kuldeep Yadav.
"He will be the main weapon for India today. I think Heinrich Klaasen will play him well. He has played him well in the past but I think Aiden will struggle against him today," Du Plessis further added.
Discussing the upcoming clash, du Plessis delved into Sunil Gavaskar's perspective, emphasising that no team, except for the Netherlands, has managed to expose South Africa's middle-order early in the tournament. He added that the Indian fast bowling attack might hold the key to achieving this, potentially making a significant impact on the game.
"One of the other things that Sunny (Gavaskar) talks about is that no one really has got the South African middle order in early. They have batted really well up front and set up a base and then hitters come in to smash towards the end. If the Indian seamers take quick wickets up front, that could put pressure on the SA middle order," Faf du Plessis concluded about the match.
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