Published: Apr 04, 2014, 07:54 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 04, 2014, 11:23 PM (IST)
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
Mirpur: Apr 4, 2014
South Africa came into the ICC World T20 2014 semi-final with a “fresh mindset”, ready to shed the infamous tag of chokers. And, half-way through the game, they haven’t disappointed their fans as they put up 172 for four in their 20 overs. India won’t find it all that easy to chase as this is a knockout game and runs on the board always adds pressure.
As it pelted down at Mirpur on Thursday night, there was a word about Friday’s game also being affected. The Indian fans were informed that their side would get through in the event of the game being washed out without a ball being bowled. However, the skies cleared up in the hours leading up to the game and South Africa won the toss; electing to bat first. Both sides came into this contest with unchanged elevens, which meant Ajinkya Rahane and Mohit Sharma held on to their spots.
The first over was action packed as Bhuvneshwar Kumar struggled to get his line right and strayed down the leg-side to Quinton de Kock. And, when he got it right, de Kock got an inside edge which bounced past MS Dhoni for four. However, he wasn’t lucky the next time as the inside edge went into Dhoni’s gloves.
India did not start with the slow bowlers surprisingly. They backed Mohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar early on. For some time, they did have a hold over proceedings. Hashim Amla was quiet to begin with and then got into his stride with a lovely punch off Mohit through the off-side for a four. Mohit’s first over had gone for three, but the next was taken for 17. Finally, spin was introduced in the sixth over and it paid instant rewards.
Ashwin, coming from round the wicket, pitched his second ball a bit outside the off-stump and it turned the other way to beat Amla and shatter his woodwork. Ravindra Jadeja was then brought in, and so was Suresh Raina. But, the trump-card Amit Mishra was kept for later. At the half-way stage, they were 66 for two with Mishra yet to bowl. And, when he came on in the 11th over, people asked: How much has Shane Warne’s presence at the nets helped South Africa?
Faf du Plessis had urged his teammates to play with a fresh mindset and he was the man to lead from the front. Until the 10th over, he had stably moved to 25 and JP Duminy was getting his eye in. The moment Mishra came into the attack, du Plessis made his intentions clear that he was going to attack him. Under that pressure, Mishra bowled a no-ball and then conceded a four off the free-hit.
That is where the floodgates opened for du Plessis. Raina’s next over was smashed 16 runs as du Plessis smacked a six over square-leg. And when Mishra came on for his second, du Plessis welcomed him with a four. Then, it was Duminy’s chance to shine as he clobbered a six over mid-wicket off Mishra. In two overs, Mishra had conceded 25 and South Africa were 107 for two in 13.
That forced MS Dhoni to bring back Ravichandran Ashwin and when he was pulled over cow-corner by du Plessis for another maximum, one felt the tide was in South Africa’s favour. But then, Ashwin backed his variations and bowled it slower in the air, making du Plessis make room. The South African captain went for the sweep, but it bounced, hit his torso and crashed into the stumps. That breakthrough did give India some relief, but it wasn’t to be for Mishra as he conceded another 11 off his third over.
AB de Villiers is the floater in the batting line-up and is often used as someone who can force the issue. But, Ashwin foxed him with another one slower through the air and he pulled it to Rohit Sharma at deep fine-leg.
It was then left to the well-set Duminy and the hard-hitting David Miller to surge towards the end. After starting off with singles, both batsmen picked their opportunities and were able to pick up many runs from the last three overs.
Going by the game on Thursday, India would have to score at a good rate from the outset to get ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par, should the rain come down of course.
Brief scores:
South Africa 172 for 4 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 58, JP Duminy 45,* David Miller 23*; Ravichandran Ashwin 3 for 22) vs India.
ICC World T20 2014 schedule: Match time table with venue details
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_44)
