India Have A Clear Advantage, It's Not Rocket Science: Van Der Dussen

South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen believes it is obvious that India have a ‘definite’ advantage playing all their games in the ongoing Champions Trophy in Dubai, but believes the onus will be on the Men in Blue to utilise the advantage.

All the way to the final, India will play every single game of theirs in Dubai, while all the other semi-finalists would have played across multiple countries. Many former and current cricketers, including Australia ODI and Test captain Pat Cummins, have voiced out how the arrangement gives India an advantage over the other sides.

Speaking at a press conference, van der Dussen did not mince his words.

"If you can stay in one place, stay in one hotel, practise in the same facilities, play in the same stadium, on the same pitches every time, it's definitely an advantage," van der Dussen said, reported Cricbuzz.

"I don't think you have to be a rocket scientist to know that. The onus would be on them to use that advantage. In a sense it puts more pressure on them because whoever is going to play them in the semi or potentially the final is going to go there and the conditions are going to be foreign - and [India] are going to be used to them.

"The pressure would be on them to get it right because they have all that knowledge."

As it stands, there is a chance South Africa could end up facing India in the semi-final, based on where the two sides finish in the points table. 

But South Africa have to seal qualification firstly for that, and they’ve not been helped by the weather, with their previous encounter against Australia getting washed out. In fact, when they walk out against England on March 1, it will be the Proteas’ first hit out in the middle in eight days. 

Van der Dussen admitted that the forced, extended break is not ideal. 

"It's a strange situation," Van der Dussen said. "I was speaking to someone at training today, and I said it's almost been a week since we've played. It feels like everyone else is playing, but we're not.

"We have so many training sessions. What's happening today? Another training session. We have another session tomorrow, which will probably be optional.

"But it is what it is. It would have been a cracking match [against the Aussies]. They're playing well, even though they're missing their big three bowlers [Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood].

"We played well against Afghanistan, and when you're playing well you want to keep playing. The challenge for us is to keep that momentum from a week ago."

South Africa’s place in the semis will be confirmed if Australia beat Afghanistan tomorrow, or if the game is washed out. But they will still have to beat England to confirm top spot, and that might be necessary to avoid India in the semis.