We did not get to see a flurry of fours and sixes in the opening game of T20 World Cup 2021’s Super 12 stage, but it turned out to be a thriller nevertheless. After the conclusion of South Africa’s first innings, Australia were expected to chase down the total easily but the usual suspects did not perform early on which provided an opening for the Proteas to make a comeback. In the end, Dwaine Pretorious was given the task to defend eight runs in the last over by skipper Temba Bavuma but T20 veteran Marcus Stoinis did not panic and won the match for Australia with two balls to spare.
Stoinis regains form
The Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder was severely criticised for his knock in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 qualifier. It was Stoinis' second game in the second phase of IPL 2021 as he injured his hamstring in DC's first match in second phase. The all-rounder regained his form in the warm-up game where he took on India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and remained unbeaten for 41. In today's game, he walked in to bat after Glenn Maxwell's wicket in the 16th over when Australia needed 38 more runs to win from 28 deliveries. He played a beautiful cameo scoring 24 runs from 16 deliveries to give an out-of-form Australia their first match of the tournament.
Markram’s catch turns the match
‘Catches win matches’ is a cliché of a phrase but true. At a time Australia were looking to cruise towards the target, Aiden Markram put in a full-stretch dive and both hands underneath the ball to dismiss a set Steve Smith. The wicket in the 15th over turned the match in the Proteas’ favour with Smith falling for 35. However, later in the innings Markram dropped a half-chance of Matthew Wade, who shared an unbeaten match-winning partnership of 40 runs with Stoinis.
Warner is officially a concern now
While David Warner's teammates and skipper backed him to perform in the World Cup, the opener is yet to show his true colours. During a run chase that was almost tailormade for Warner's comeback, he could score only 14 runs from 15 balls when there was no scoreboard pressure. It will be interesting to see if Australia persist with the southpaw or replace him Josh Inglis, who is yet to make his T20I debut.
Hazlewood leads the pack
Few months back, Josh Hazlewood would not have been the first choice pacer in Australia’s T20I side. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stint in the second phase of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 did wonders for Hazlewood as he looked more in control of his line and length. The pacer pushed South Africa on the back foot early on with wickets of opener Quinton de Kock and practice game’s centurion Rassie van der Dussen. This was also the first time Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins played together in a T20I. Starc took two wickets whereas Cummins was economical and took one wicket. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa and part-time off-spinner Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with two and one wicket respectively.
Horrendous batting
The dismissals of South Africa’s top order looked ugly and did not give much confidence to the batters sitting in the dugout. South Africa never recovered from the top order collapse. Markram was the only batter who looked in control while wickets fell on the other hand. Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller shared small partnerships but lost their wickets before death overs. Late boost from tailender Kagiso Rabada saved South Africa from bundling out below 100. Rabada’s unbeaten 19 took South Africa’s score to 118/9. This is South Africa's second-lowest total in T20 World Cup events. Their lowest of 116/9 came against India in the inaugural edition of T20 World Cup which led to their exit from the tournament.
