JP Duminy could be South Africa’s unexpected hero in tour of India 2015

JP Duminy’s calm knock, punctuated with timely explosive shots won South Africa the game.

Cricket fans from the nations of India and South Africa got what they would have wanted. An entertaining start to the much-hyped ‘Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela’ series between the two cricket-mad nations, with the first Twenty20 International (T20I) being an open contest until the last over. In the end, it was JP Duminy’s calm and calculated knock, punctuated with timely explosive shots towards the end of the chase that ultimately took the South Africans past the finish line. Amit Banerjee opines that Duminy has marked himself as an x-factor for his side for the remainder of the tour in the form of a limited-overs middle-order specialist. SCORECARD: India vs South Africa 2015, 1st T20I at Dharamsala

The Indian batsman had set a stiff target for the Proteas to chase down in order to get off to a winning start in the ongoing series. Rohit Sharma’s slam-bang innings of 106 off 66 balls, coupled with Virat Kohli’s 27-ball 43, helped setup the foundation for the hosts to finish on an above-par total of 199 in 20 overs. Openers AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla got their side off to a dream start, with the two sides executing their most exquisite collection of strokes with magically precision. UPDATES: India vs South Africa 2015, 1st T20I at Dharamsala

Things were going like a dream for the visitors at a score of 77 for no loss in just the eighth over when ‘Hash’ was caught short of his crease. That was just the beginning of a mini-collapse, which saw de Villiers return to the pavilion after a blistering fifty, with skipper Faf du Plessis joining him not so long after. ALSO READ: JP Duminy helps South Africa win cliff-hanger against India in the 1st T20I at Dharamsala

A transition from 77 for no loss to 95 for three certainly spells danger to any side, especially in the T20 format where even one dismissal can turn the game around its head, given the succinctness of the format. At the crease was the underrated but reliable JP Duminy, who clearly had plans of his own for the rest of the chase.

One does not doubt the stroke of luck that Duminy enjoyed after being adjudged not out on what appeared to be a plumb case of leg-before wicket (lbw) off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Duminy however, played the perfect finisher’s knock thereafter, playing a calculated innings initially where he would get a boundary or two every now or then, which ultimately culminated in a complete assault of the Indian bowlers at the latter stages, especially one Akshar Patel.

Duminy patted the fourth ball of the final over towards midwicket for a single to bring up the collective sigh of relief, and at the same time a cry of joy in the South African camp as the tourists were off to a winning start in their 72-day tour of India, the one country where they haven’t enjoyed the best of records. Duminy punched the air with a sense of exhilaration, savouring a well-deserved victory as well as his return to form with the bat.

The left-handed batsman, who comes in handy with the ball and is also arguably one of the best fielders in the current era, had shown great promise in the warm-up fixture against India A in Delhi. He played a near-identical knock against the second-string side Indian side at the Palam Ground. Duminy, who is quite well-versed with the Indian conditions due to his stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL), slammed two fours and six sixes during his 32-ball innings of 68 not out, although the bowling department would once again disappoint as the hosts won by eight wickets.

Duminy’s form, which had abandoned him for the most part during the ICC World Cup 2015 barring the group match against Zimbabwe, is of great news for the South African batting order for it takes the pressure of scoring the bulk of runs off the likes of de Villiers, Amla, du Plessis, David Miller, etc. Having a reliable member like him in the middle-order, would help the aforementioned batting stars play a more open game.

The onus of course, is on Duminy to make the most of this new-found form to cement one of the middle-order positions for himself not only in the ongoing series but during the rest of the summer as well. It could perhaps be a major incentive for him to shed his ‘underrated’ tag, which has been burdening him for so long now.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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