IND vs. SA 3rd T20I: South Africa wins an unimportant match, but the loss doesn’t bother India.
IND vs. SA 3rd T20I: South Africa wins an unimportant match, but the loss doesn’t bother India. The third umpire wanted to ensure that Tristan Stubbs’ low grab off Suryakumar Yadav was clean after he retrieved the ball from the grass a few inches above the ground with remarkable athleticism and anticipation.
Even without holding to his last shred of optimism, Yadav had already begun sprinting back to the dugout. Since he was caught at a deep point, he had no way of knowing whether or not the catch was clean, and batsmen are known to loiter in such situations. Furthermore, he represented India’s last, best chance of beating the lofty objective of 227 set by South Africa.
This moment thus encapsulated the overall tone of the game. There was an air of lightheartedness, a streak of irreverence, not apathy or lack of seriousness, but rather an obvious belief that this game didn’t matter. For India, this encounter amounted to little more than a glorified warm-up.
The series was decided, the World Cup strategy was mapped out, and the game was scheduled as a formality. It’s like being coerced into going to a wedding where you’ll have to make awkward small talk with complete strangers. Essentially, it’s a waste of time.
However, one may argue that South Africa had to redeem itself following a string of humiliating losses. In spite of their 49-run triumph, there were some bright spots, like Rilee Rossouw’s stunning hundred off 48 balls and Quinton de Kock’s resurgence.
Pretorius started laughing, and any regret about missing the window of opportunity to get the Indians out of there quickly faded away. Just before that, the ball brushed off Pretorius’s pads after he made the line hold off the seam. However, even de Kock’s normally overflowing enthusiasm was muted. The bowler will not be staring you down.
No fire in the chase
The presenters panned to India’s locker area to find the team joking and laughing amongst themselves.
There were very few instances where the chase actually became exciting. Both Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been benched from the game.
Then, on the second delivery from Kagiso Rabada, Rohit Sharma was run out by an inside edge. It wasn’t long until Shreyas Iyer joined him, on the fourth ball of the second over. Yadav would have been the natural choice to bat fourth in a high-stakes game, but instead it was Dinesh Karthik who joined forces with Rishabh Pant in the opening pair. Perhaps only Iyer wished he had argued his case in case one of the other batsmen got hurt.
Amount-wise, it was already a mountain, and now it seemed quite distant. Then a fire broke out. Pant got free and tore Lungi Ngidi apart for 20 runs, but the inning finished with Pant misslicing a slash to Stubbs. Karthik, however, did not give in.
Scooping him for six, extra-cover driving him for four, and flicking him over fine-leg, he tucked into Wayne Parnell. He smacked Keshav Maharaj for two sixes in the next over, but then he failed miserably at a switch-hit. Batting was frenzied and occasionally disorderly, as if the batters had been given permission to wing it rather than worry about the typical logistics of a chase.
Perhaps the sole goal would have been to give Pant (27) and Karthik (26) a chance to bat after their impressive start in the field (14 for 27 and 46 for 21).
Statements
They did get some opportunity to rehearse, at least. After the game, coach Rahul Dravid said to the local media, “Today was an opportunity to give guys who haven’t had much batting to have some time.”
Rishabh and Dinesh are feeling the strain. I really wished they could have kept playing because they were both hitting the ball so well. It might have been a much closer game with another four or five overs. We’re pleased with how things have progressed thus far, Harshal, Deepak, and the rest of you guys. However, there was no room for a what-if storyline.
The win was long ago, in 1996, but Deepak Chahar and Umesh Yadav sparked hope by bringing up Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath’s performance against Australia.
Nonetheless, the crowd was not gripped by fear. There was no awkward quiet, no gnawing of fingernails or hair, and no heads buried in hands. They simply let out a deafening yell and heaved in joy at the night being a celebration of new heights being reached. India also hit 15 fours, but South Africa smacked 16 sixes.
Dimensions
Bowlers had it tough, as this was the best batting surface in the country. The dimensions of this ground are so small that even mishits would soar over the ropes, and those that blazed off the middle would land in the second or third tiers, into the cheering crowd, who were rarely starved of batting fireworks.
This was in contrast to the sideways movement seen in Thiruvananthapuram. The only batsman who would have trouble here would be in as bad of form as Temba Bavuma. Therefore, no total is certain. The South African captain managed only three shaky runs off eight balls before being dismissed.
However, Quinton de Kock, having recently rediscovered his aggressive side in Guwahati, batted easily to decimate India’s bowling attack.
He’d roll onto his back foot and unleash his pick-up strokes from behind the square position, using his wrists and the surface’s natural bounce and pace.
He would occasionally draw the ball from outside the off-stump as he did once to Mohammad Siraj, but never take any real chances. He punished Siraj severely after the latter asked for another six, this time a flatter and more potent one. The bowlers were then met with Rossouw’s fiery wrath. And the game quickly faded into obscurity.
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