India Cricket World Cup
India will look for more such scenes after their match against South Africa at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015Reuters

The win over Pakistan is now history; it is time to move on for India in this ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, with their next opponents only getting more difficult in the shape of South Africa.

This huge clash at the MCG on Sunday promises to be another humdinger, and India, unlike their match against Pakistan, go in as the lesser fancied side.

That should not worry MS Dhoni's men too much, though, as they know if they play to their full potential on Sunday, even South Africa will not be too big a hurdle to cross.

"If we beat them tomorrow, it will give us immense self-belief that we can beat big sides come the knockout stages," India vice-captain Virat Kohli, who scored a brilliant hundred against Pakistan, said on Saturday. "South Africa has been one of the top sides in the world and they have a good balance in batting and bowling and their fielding has raised standards in international cricket.

"To get over that hurdle tomorrow will be immense self-belief booster in many ways.

"We realise it is important to hold momentum in a tournament like the World Cup. We have started off on a good note and it is something that we are looking to build over the next few games."

India did start on the perfect note, putting in a very good all-round performance against Pakistan. Their batsmen, despite a blip in the final five overs, put up a big score and their bowlers backed them up brilliantly.

That bowling performance would have been the most encouraging sign from India's point of view, and if the bowlers can continue to play top-class cricket, the defending champions will go a long way.

Also Read

Stopping the Pakistan batsmen and curbing the South African marauders is a completely different prospect, however, and as Zimbabwe found out against the Proteas, the batting strength of South Africa is pretty good.

Four down for little against Zimbabwe, David Miller and JP Duminy put on a record fifth-wicket partnership to take the game away from their neighbours, and if India are not careful, the same could happen to them as well.

"Every game we play, we want to win," said the best batsman in the world and South Africa captain De Villiers, who will be desperate for a big score after failing o sparkle like only he can against Zimbabwe. "We have prepared in order for us to win this game, and we are as ready as we can be.

"We are just going to go out there and give it our best shot tomorrow.

"We know India are still the world champions. We know they are an incredible cricket team, so the respect factor is definitely still there.

"We know they are a very dangerous side, and we are going to play accordingly and hopefully come out on top tomorrow."

Kohli termed this game as a contest between India's batsmen and South Africa's bowlers, but as was the case against Pakistan, the result might come down to how well India's weaker link – the bowling – does.

If the likes of Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja can frustrate and restrict the attacking South Africa batsmen, then the bat-and-ball game will change completely.

Of course, the fact that the Indian batsmen need to step up goes without saying, but the result is most likely to depend on their bowlers – stop De Villiers and his band of run-scoring men, India could just walk away from Melbourne with two World Cup victories out of two and with it jump into the driver's seat for top spot in Pool B.

Where to Watch Live

Get the Live Blog, Score and Coverage of the India vs South Africa match HERE

The India vs South Africa match is set to begin at 2.30 pm local time (9 am IST, 3.30 am GMT, 10.30 pm ET). The match will be shown live in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3, Asianet Movies and DD National, with the live streaming option in India on the Starsports website and also via their Live Pro option.

Viewers in South Africa can catch the match live on SuperSport (with a large cup of coffee) or live stream the game on SuperSport Live. Audience in the UK can do the same on Sky Sports World Cup or Sky Go.

Audience in the US will be able to watch the match live on ESPN and Watch ESPN, while Australia viewers can do the same on Channel 9 and Fox Sports. The match can also be live streamed in Australia on Cricket Australia Live, Cricket Australia Live App and Foxtel.

Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can catch the match live on OSN or via live streaming on OSN Play.