So close but yet so far. These are thoughts that are likely to enter the minds of South African cricketers and their fans. Reaching the finals of an ICC tournament is no mean feat, especially for the jinx-prone Proteas who have missed out on many a final thanks to that inability to cross the semi-final hurdle. But this time having reached the final, and at one point finding themselves in the driver’s seat, this final loss against India would be a hard pill to swallow.
The question is: where did things go wrong for South Africa? Was it the toss? Was it Virat Kohli’s innings? Was it the untimely dismissal of Heinrich Klaasen? A lot can be said about the eventual defeat of the Proteas, here we will provide an informed summary of three key factors that led to them losing out on their first ICC World Cup.
Reason 01 – Not Attacking Jasprit Bumrah from the Word Go
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Cricket is mainly a mind game. The mindset that players bring into each game comes to define how they perform on the field. With India, it was obvious that Jasprit Bumrah would be the main threat for the Proteas batsman. The trouble was having lost Reza Hendricks early, the South Africans went on the defensive against India’s spearhead fast bowler, and that attitude never changed throughout the game.
The idea that the best form of defense is the attack was totally missed by the South African players. Who gave Bumrah too much respect that it allowed him to dictate terms on the game that would be played when he was at the bowling crease? Against top-class bowlers, the onus is on the batsman to disrupt his rhythm and force changes to the field. The South Africans however went into a shell and never came out.
Reason 02 – Playing it Safe with Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh
Pandya was arguably India’s bowling weak link. A batting all-rounder who to his credit had a decent outing in the IPL was the bowler the South Africans had to target but failed. Hardik Pandya bowled a brilliant 3-over spell, including the crucial final over. However, by then South Africa had left it too late. Here one must question the mindset of the Proteas as they played out low-scoring overs at the business end of the innings from Arshdeep Singh and Hardik.
Knowing full well that Bumrah was the threat, they should have attacked these ‘lesser’ bowlers. They did not. Arshdeep Singh finished with stellar figures of 4 for 20 in his four overs and Pandya finished with 3 for 20 in three overs. This is unacceptable from a Proteas standpoint. And because South Africa had 2 wickets remaining, they could have attacked more early on.
Reason 03 – Markram Batting at No. 03
A more tactical mistake that the South Africans made was playing captain Markram at the crucial No. 03 position. Whilst Markram has not had a bad T20 World Cup, it has not been a great one either. And with questions hanging over the lower-order batting of South Africa, the team could have done something different by pushing Stubbs or even Jansen up the order. In the same way the Indians did with Axar Patel, who played a critical innings. Aiden Markram batting lower down the order, providing that cushion could have made a difference. Could have.
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