The World Cup finally arrived at Eden Gardens, and in front of a sparse afternoon crowd, William Porterfield called right and chose to bowl on a pitch he expected to remain the same through the course of 100 overs. The Irish captain said there was no pressure on his side, despite it being a must-win game for them. Ireland's hopes of an upset were bolstered by the return of seamer Trent Johnston, who replaced an indisposed Andre Botha in the XI.
South Africa were forced to make injury changes as well, with AB de Villiers' muscle strain forcing him out of the game, while Imran Tahir missed out again due to his fractured thumb. Colin Ingram got a World Cup debut, but is expected to bat in the lower middle order, while wicketkeeper Morne van Wyk could bat at No. 3 or 4.
Victory today will confirm South Africa's place in the last eight, but with just two points from their first four games, even wins in the last two matches won't guarantee Ireland's progress.
Ireland: 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Niall O'Brien (wk), 5 Gary Wilson, 6 Kevin O'Brien, 7 Alex Cusack, 8 John Mooney, 9 Trent Johnston, 10 George Dockrell, 11 Boyd Rankin.
South Africa: 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Morne van Wyk (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Faf du Plessis, 7 Colin Ingram, 8 Johan Botha, 9 Robin Peterson, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Morne Morkel.
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