After beating Zimbabwe in the tournament opener, South Africa went down to New Zealand in Harare on the 16th of July. They played well in patches but somehow could not finish the job, even though they were chasing a total. The total was substantial but not impossible in Harare, yet they fell 21 runs short of the target. There were reasons why South Africa lost this game, and we will list out three reasons for their loss.
Inability to finish the job with the ball hampers South Africa
South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl first, as is the norm in Harare. The Proteas got early wickets as they dismissed the openers Devon Conway and Tim Seifert early in the piece. The rest of the batting also lost wickets in clusters, except for Tim Robinson as New Zealand were reduced to 70/5 in 9.3 overs. But then what followed was great for the Kiwis but not so for the Proteas.
Tim Robinson got an able ally in Bevon Jacobs, and the duo nullified the Proteas’ bowling to put on an unbroken 103-run stand for the 6th wicket. Robinson made an unbeaten 75 off 57 balls laced with 6 fours and 3 sixes to his name while Jacobs made an unbeaten 44 off 30 balls with 1 four and 3 sixes to his name. What also did not help the Proteas was the amount of extras they gave. 16 extras were given 13 of which were wides meaning the South Africans bowled two extra overs due to this.
Going forward in this Tri-Series, South Africa needs to be more clinical and ruthless and not let the opposition back from 70/5. They could have restricted the Kiwis to 130-140 from 70/5 but allowed them to get 173 which was a par score on that wicket. It is not a major concern, but an area to work on ahead of the upcoming games.
Shuffling of the batting order hampers South Africa’s progress
When South Africa came to chase, what surprised all of us was the batting order. The openers Reeza Hendricks and Lhuan-dre Pretorius batted at their original positions. But what followed next surprised a few and raised a few eyebrows. Rubin Hermann who batted well in the previous game in the middle order was pushed upto Number 3. Then if that was not enough, Senuran Muthusamy was promoted to 4 while Rassie van der Dussen who batted at 3 previous game came in at 5. All these moves did not work and resulted in early wickets.
They always say is stick to the combination that is working and South Africa should have done that, but they changed the batting order, created instability and as a result lost early wickets which in turn, put pressure on them in the asking rate as well. They lost half their side inside 10 overs and were in dire straits at 111/7 in 13.1 overs. They tried to get close and make a match out of it, but couldn’t.
South Africa to do well in the Tri-Series, must deploy a proper batting line-up and give the right players at the right positions in order to succeed against strong team like New Zealand. Experiments against New Zealand may not work since they are seasoned campaigners.
Dewald Brevis failing to play the role of finisher
Dewald Brevis is a young talent and has the potential to take South African cricket forward in the white-ball format. He has been assigned the role of a finisher and while he has played whirlwind knocks in the two games so far, he hasn’t been there till the end. In the first game, he scored 41 off 17 balls but was dismissed. Luckily, South Africa were chasing 142 against Zimbabwe. Yesterday, he made 35 off 18 balls and looked good. He brought South Africa back on track after early wickets fell. But he got out at the wrong time.
Cameos are good if they come on the winning side and Brevis’ role was to finish the game and stay unbeaten. In both the games, he did not do it and left it to others to do the job. While George Linde and Gerald Coetzee tried their best towards the end, it was a bridge too far for South Africa to climb.
In the upcoming matches, Brevis if he gets in must go and finish games for his side and not let others do it for him. He has the game to do it, it’s all about temperament for him now. He must seize the moment and come out flying colours as he has a lot of potential which may enable him to dominate world cricket at least in the white ball format.
What Lies Ahead
South Africa have played 2 games winning 1 and losing 1 while New Zealand have won their first game. The next game of the Tri-Series will feature Zimbabwe hosting New Zealand at Harare on 18th of July i.e. Friday. Both teams play Zimbabwe next in this double round robin format. South Africa will aim to get back to winning ways against Zimbabwe while New Zealand will hope to make it 2 matches out of 2 games against Zimbabwe on 18th of July.
Exciting times ahead and we have to see whether the hosts get on the board in the Tri-Series on Friday. That will make things very interesting. We shall wait and see how the games unfold in the coming days.
Also Read:Â ZIM T20I Series: SWOT Analysis Of New Zealand