Shukri Conrad wants Proteas to make India 'vulnerable' under home pressure

India came into the global tournament as firm favourites to defend their trophy and have not yet been at their best, even though have won four from four in the group stages.

The Proteas themselves needed a double super over to scrape past Afghanistan, but have been close to flawless in other their three other victories.

Proteas captain Aiden Markram and his charges will step into the cauldron of the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday in front of 132 000 fanatical Indian fans expecting there team to perform, something Conrad is aware of.

"The first half of the group stages was the anxious bit for me. This is now the excitement," Conrad told reporters.

"Tournament cricket almost has three parts to it. You've got to find a way of just getting out of that group stage. So we did that.

"Now you look and you say, right, we've got India first up and then the West Indies with some of the most entertaining players in the world and that excites me.

"Pressure is a big thing but it's pressure both for us and them. I think we all talk about the pressure of playing against the top side, but we're not quite aware of what the pressures they are under.

"There's so much scrutiny, especially a side like India. They're going to be under a lot of pressure to make the semi-finals and obviously go on and make the finals as well.

"Hopefully we can expose them and make them vulnerable under that pressure."

Conrad is also confident that batter Dewald Brevis will come good in the next phase of the tournament, that also includes fixtures against West Indies and Zimbabwe.

The 22-year-old middle-order has only shown flashes of what he is capable of in his four innings so far, but has a highest score of 36 against UAE.

"He is going to break our hearts, then one day he'll do something special," Conrad insisted. "I've got a good feeling. Dewi is a player for the big occasion, it's when he stands up.

"We saw what he did in the SA20 knockouts. He is that type of guy. He thrives when the occasion is big. I'm not too worried. He'll find his way. He's an X-factor player for us."

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