Such was the nature of the outcome when South Africa and New Zealand played in the group stages, that it is tempting to wonder why the Proteas simply can’t just do that again in Wednesday’s semifinal — win by seven wickets with 17 balls to spare.
Aiden Markram can bash another 86 and Marco Jansen can take four wickets again. “I wish cricket was that easy,” smiled Markram.
And yet simplicity has been at the heart of South Africa’s T20 World Cup campaign. Read the conditions — black or red soil base; play the extra seamer if there is more bounce, add another spinner, if the surface might turn. Bowl more slower balls, sometimes a cutter is better than a seam up delivery and sometimes the spinner can open the bowling.
“We don’t complicate it too much. We try to get a feel for conditions as quickly as we can, come up with some plans and then back those plans for the innings,” Markram said.
Batting, too, has been about maximising the power play, even when they were three wickets down against India and then maintaining momentum throughout, making sure that one of the big-hitting middle players, is there at the end.
“Both teams have played a lot of cricket [since the group game]. It is a completely fresh start tomorrow. And it being a semifinal. It is not as simple as repeating that [performance] — there are a lot of variables in this game.”
South Africa know that all too well from their history in ICC events. New Zealand have played their part in inflicting a lot of that pain; whether it be sledging furiously in Dhaka in 2011, the razzle-dazzle of Brendon McCullum in Auckland in 2015 or the brilliance of Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson and Mitchell Santner in Lahore last year.
South Africa have never beaten New Zealand in a knockout match at an ICC event.
Those games were all in the ODI format. Wednesday is new territory, not only in terms of that history, but also because both teams are playing at Eden Gardens for the first time in the tournament.
Markram and opposite number Santner kept a close eye on Sunday’s match between West Indies and India, where the co-hosts chased down 197 fairly comfortably. The record suggests batting second in a night match is the way to go, with teams who have chased winning eight of the nine matches under lights.
Santer, who has plenty of IPL experience, said the dew wasn’t as much of a factor at this time of year as it is during the Indian Premier League, which starts next month. Nevertheless it was an issue for the West Indies, who were slipping and sliding in the outfield and also dropped a couple of crucial chances.
“But look, whatever you do first, you want to do it well and then put as much pressure as possible on the opposition,” the Black Caps captain said.
I’ve been fortunate to lead very strong teams, a great mix of younger guys with the older guys. It’s more a reflection on the group as a whole.
— Aiden Markram
The Proteas practised under the lights on Tuesday evening and were going to assess the pitch before training. Markram said it looked like a black soil surface that would see South Africa return to the seam-heavy bowling unit in the starting eleven that featured against India in the Super Eights.
His own form, both as captain and with the bat has been a talking point in recent days. A stat doing the rounds highlights how Markram, who has captained the Proteas 24 times in an ICC tournament fixture, has lost just one match — the 2024 T20 World Cup final.
“I’ve been fortunate to lead very strong teams, a great mix of younger guys with the older guys. It’s more a reflection on the group as a whole,” the South Africa skipper said.
He was equally humble about his success with the bat in the tournament. With an aggregate of 268 runs he is the third-highest run-scorer. Separating the captaincy from his batting has been crucial to that success.
“It is something I have fought with a lot of over the years — parking the captaincy and just being the batter while you’re out there batting. What I’ve learnt in recent months and in this World Cup is to make a proper effort to separate the two and if you do your job as a batter for the team, ultimately that will contribute to a winning cause.”
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