The Australia-South Africa semi-final was a curious exhibition of tactics, most of which backfired but could have worked on another day, writes Abhishek Mukherjee.
The 2023 World Cup has been a curious edition. While every team has won at least twice, the tournament has been surprisingly replete with one-sided affairs.
The second semi-final, played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, produced a classic match. In fact, Australia’s three-wicket victory over South Africa was the closest in World Cup finals history using this parameter.
The outcome was determined above all by tactical measures, some of which were unsuccessful.
Bavuma playing without being 100 per cent fit
At the World Cup, Themba Bavuma scored 145 runs in seven innings before the semi-final, but was criticized for playing ahead of Leesa Hendricks. At the same time, his success before the World Cup (he averaged 80 points, and in 2023 he reached 104 points) was also strong.
Hendricks’ 85 points against England is often cited as a reason why he played ahead of Bavuma, but his 12 points against Bangladesh were less memorable. In his other three innings in 2023, he scored his 52, 39, and 28 runs. It was a decent performance, not an extraordinary one.
Bavuma reached the semi-finals despite not being ‘100 per cent fit’ – rarely a wise decision – but South Africa’s The camp had no problem with this.
He “may not have had the intensity he usually does on the field when chasing the ball, but he balanced it out by being on the field as a captain.” And that to me Beat that every day. ” head coach Rob Walter said in the postgame press conference. Bavuma scored a four-ball duck, but the rest of South Africa’s top order fared a bit better. And it could be argued that his calm mind was crucial to South Africa’s brave defence.
South Africa opting to bat
“Pitches that are prone to spin require a first shot,” Bavuma explained during the toss, using the Duckworth-Lewis Stern format, which is often seen as giving an advantage to chasing teams thanks to the rainy reserve day. It was explained that the impact of
Remarkably, as of Thursday, South Africa have been the leading batsmen in five games in the 2023 World Cup, averaging 67.03 runs and an over of 7.50. With four chases, the numbers dropped to 23.76 for him and 4.90 for him.
South Africa also played against Tabraiz Shamsi before Lungi Ngidi. In their defence, the pitch rotated even when part-time spinners Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and Aiden Markram were bowling.
What they did not take into account was the fact that the surface also contributes to the formation of seams during the first hour of play. In fact, Pat Cummins himself would have fought first…
Zampa bowling after rain
When the rain stopped, South Africa were 44-4 after 14 overs. After sharing four wickets, Starc and Josh Hazlewood bowled 13 of them, with Cummins bowling the other over. However, when the match resumed, Australia started Adam Zampa.
South Africa played the first over cautiously, with David Miller hitting sixes in the next two overs. Zampa was removed from the attack, but the pressure eased.
It would have been logical to postpone Starc and Hazlewood’s overs, but perhaps Mitchell Marsh (neither Marcus Stoinis nor Cam Green played) for one on a pitch fresh from a rain break. It would have been wise to give him an over or two.
Opening with Jansen
Gone are the days when you had to control your team to within 213 points in a 50-over game. You have to get them out of the way. To do this, you need to eliminate the biggest threats as quickly as possible.
Some teams would have opened with spinners, but not South Africa. You can probably understand why. Keshav Maharaj, the best bowler in the world, heads the ball with Australia’s left-handed opener David Warner. Shamsi, another spinner, plays wrist spin, which is rarely the preferred option with the new ball.
Okay, but why start with Marco Jansen, who struggled to find his line in the league match against India at the same venue? He conceded four wides in the over, two fours and two sixes in the first three overs.
Delaying the spinners, especially Maharaj
Australia were 60-0 after six overs when Bavuma took the lead. Markram batted on the first ball, but Bavuma was not particularly keen on Maharaj and Shamsi until after the 13th over.
When he replaced Shamsi, Australia were 98-2 and the game was probably already past the point of redemption. Even more so when Maharaj came in with his 106-2 record. Maharaj bowled his left-handed header with his first ball. The presence of the head was almost certainly the cause of the delay.
Like many decisions in cricket, they would have been correct on another day had Gerard Coetzee or Shamsi not dropped their heads on the first ball. Maharaj and Shamsi played spin in different styles. He gave a bowling masterclass, but it did not go well.
The handling of the spinners
The first over at the head revealed that the spinner was getting more traction from the high court end. Bavuma brought in Markram from the same team, who was later replaced by Maharaj. As a result, Shamsi had to throw his first pitch from the clubhouse end.
However, when Coetzee came on with a marathon eight-over effort, Shamsi replaced Maharaj at the high court end. When he finished, Maharaj threw the finale. And he was replaced by – pun intended – Markram.
South Africa’s chances worsened as it became clear that Kagiso Rabada would not be able to meet his quota. Bavuma’s handling of the spinners did not win them the semi-final, but pushed South Africa to the brink. On another day they might have won the game.
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