Ehtesham Ayub
On Wednesdays, when the recently installed state-of-the-art floodlights took complete effect at the Gaddafi Stadium, all eyes were on Proteas batting lineup, as Temba Bavuma’s men started pursuit of their 362 run target set by the Kiwis, thanks to Rachin Ravindra & Kane Williamson’s terrific tons.
Having witnessed Australia chase a similar sort of total against England few days ago at the same venue & keeping in mind the flat nature of Gaddafi Stadium’s pitch, it was expected that the Proteas would come out all guns blazing in the power play to lay foundation for their monumental chase, however, Captain Bavuma had other ideas!
While Ryan Rickelton looked to be the aggressor upfront, Bavuma brought back memories of the 80’s era, where blunting the new ball was the only method an opener knew of! He took 19 deliveries to score his first boundary in the sixth over. He had only scored 3 runs before that hit, a criminal approach while chasing a total of 362. His ultra defensive approach, in hindsight, became the reason for Rickelton’s dismissal, who got out trying to compensate for the Captain’s senseless knock.
As the power play ended, South Africa found themselves 56 for the loss of one wicket, with Bavuma not out on 25 off 33 balls. The commentators were also dumbfounded by the lack of intent from Proteas Skipper! What made the knock even worse was the fact that Bavuma, after taking an eternity to get set, never changed gears. He once brought down the difference between runs scored & balls faced to 4 (32 off 36 at the end of 11th over) but soon again, his strike rate took a nosedive & by the end of 20 over mark, the difference between runs scored & balls faced had ballooned up to 14 (50 runs off 64 balls)!
With 9 wickets still in hand & the pitch showing no demons whatsoever, it was a knock that made spectators scratch their heads like no tomorrow. It was an inning destined to end in a mess and that’s exactly what happened 2 overs later, when Kiwi Skipper, Mitchell Santner deceived his counterpart with a well flighted delivery, bringing an end to Bavuma’s horror show, much to the delight of Proteas fans, more than the Kiwis.
Despite the fact that South Africa were able to score 312 by the end of their innings, with David Miller scoring an inconsequential 100, the Proteas never looked interested in chasing the total down. Half way through their innings, the required run rate was almost 9 RPO. By the end of 35th over, it had gone well beyond 11 & in excess of 14 by the end of the 40th over.
The match had well & truly ended long before Miller (who himself took 46 balls to reach 50) started his onslaught. His 100 off 67 may look impressive on paper, but not so much when one considers the fact that the required run rate had already crossed 30 RPO, before he went berserk towards the end of the innings.
Kiwis ought to thank Proteas for their nonsensical batting approach, which made it possible for them to reach the Champions Trophy final. Take nothing away from Rachin Ravindra & Kane Williamson for their delightful knocks, but if a diehard Kiwi fan was to pick the man of the match for yesterday’s win, it would undoubtedly be Captain Bavuma.
