Chasing a target might be a better idea against the South Africans today

It was pretty ironical that the pre-tournament favourites, Sri Lanka, and the defending champions, West Indies, were made to play qualifiers for the Champions Trophy.

Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, they made a quick exit from the tournament, but the West Indians have played positive cricket and made it this far.

They must have lost a little momentum against England, but they did not play too badly in that game. Most of the West Indian batsmen have had at least one big knock in the tournament, and the bowling, barring the last few overs versus England, looks adequate.

The defeat in the last game meant that West Indies were second in their group and would meet South Africa. I don't believe there is a weaker or stronger opponent at this stage, and if West Indies want to do well, they will have to beat the best teams.

However, they should gain strength from the fact that they have beaten two really strong teams in the competition. Brian Lara has been quite inspirational because he has played two games even though he was far from fit. The rest of the guys also look far more motivated and involved than they usually do.

The wicket at Jaipur is not an easy one to play on and I guess the team winning the toss will prefer to chase. This might be a good plan for Lara as his slow bowlers Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle have played a crucial role in the tournament. The good news is that both these individuals managed to bowl well even when they bowled in the evening, against Australia.

However, I am sure the team management will be monitoring the dew situation every evening before they decide on what to do today.

The South Africans have a very good one-day team, and their only concern will be the fact that their top order has not done too well in the tournament so far.

One of the factors on their side is their excellent record against the West Indians in the recent past. Their bowling is also in good form, with both Makhaya Ntini as well as Shaun Pollock bagging a Man of the Match award each.