We're well prepared for all conditions: De Villiers

Hambantota (Sri Lanka): Determined to remove their big tournament chokers tag, South Africa captain AB de Villiers said his side is well prepared to play in any condition in the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 here. South Africa launched their campaign in the ICC World Twenty20 on a rousing fashion, demolishing Zimbabwe by 10 wickets in a lop-sided Group C match. “I am very happy with the start. I back our pace bowlers to do well on this kind of deck. Hopefully its the same for the next game. We are definitely prepared for whatever the conditions may be,” De Villiers said at the post-match presentation. Opening their campaign in the tournament, South Africa first restricted Zimbabwe to 93 for eight after inviting the opposition to bat at the lively pitch of the Mahinda Rajapaksa stadium here and then piled up the runs without breaking a sweat in 12.4 overs. [caption id=“attachment_463168” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Zimbabwean cricket captain Brendan Taylor (L) is congratulated by South African captain AB de Villiers (R) after South Africa won the ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup match between South Africa and Zimbabwe. AFP[/caption] The defeat means Zimbabwe are out of the event after slumping to their second loss in the tournament. As expected, both Sri Lanka and South Africa, who face each other in their last group match here on Saturday, have progressed to the Super Eight stages from the pool. “We’ve improved a lot facing spin in these conditions, so can’t wait to take on what’s coming our way,” De Villiers said about the upcoming match against Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor is undoubtedly a disappointed man after crashing out of the event, but vowed to bounce back strongly soon. “It’s the end of the road, they (South Africa) showed how classy a bowling line-up they are. We are a team that are going to bounce back sharply, we’ve improved a lot over the last 24 months,” he said. Man-of-the-match Jacques Kallis, who picked up four wickets for 15 runs to rock Zimbabwe’s innings, was surprised by the lively nature of the wicket on offer for today’s match. “My job was made easier by the early wickets, I just came on and kept the pressure. There was a little bit of carry in the wicket which surprised us a little bit,” he said. PTI