NEW DELHI: Varun Chakravarthy has repeatedly troubled the South African batters and senior pro Quinton de Kock wants his younger teammates to avoid overthinking and instead trust their natural game at the right moments.

Chakravarthy has claimed 22 wickets in eight T20Is against South Africa, including 10 in the bilateral series held in December.

That said, the Proteas appear a more settled unit over the past couple of months, and De Kock revealed that the side has put in extra preparation to counter the spinner who can turn the ball both ways.

Asked about the approach against Chakravarthy, De Kock replied: "I think everyone has their own way of going about it. I think just at the end of the day our guys just have to stick to their own strengths and use their instincts at the right time. I think that's it," De Kock said on the eve of their Super Eights game against India.

"He is a very good bowler at the moment and obviously he bowled really well against us in the series, like two months ago. Hopefully, the guys have, after that series, just had a little bit more time to have a look at him, speak about how they're going to play against him. So, hopefully with their plans, it comes off."

But there was also clear admiration in what followed.

"If the plan doesn't come off there's a reason why (it won't). It's probably because he (Varun) is the number one T20 spinner in the world. So, we'll have to see what we can do."

Backing for Abhishek

The usually reserved De Kock also refused to make much of Abhishek Sharma’s hat trick of ducks.

"He's the number one T20 batsman in the world at the moment according to the ranking, so he must keep doing what he is doing. He's obviously quite young so he is bound to fail. So being number one obviously means something. I'm sure at some point he's going to play an important knock," De Kock said when asked if there was any advice for the struggling Indian opener.

Familiar rivals brace for pressure

Having faced each other several times in recent months, De Kock felt there was little to separate the two sides and believed the team that copes better with pressure on the day would come out on top.

"I think it's going to make for quite a good game tomorrow because we've played against each other quite a bit over the last two months. And to be honest, the teams haven't really changed much.

"And not even just playing against India. I think in the IPL, we're always playing against each other a lot. Everyone knows each other, how everyone plays, how everybody thinks. So I think it's just a matter of being out there who falls under the pressure first," De Kock said.

(With PTI Inputs)