Ahmedabad: Some rivalries go to extremes, such as India and Pakistan, while there are friendlier encounters as well, such as India and South Africa. Aside from the artificial hype generated by the promotions, the camaraderie between the two teams was unaffected.
You can see it in the play and matches between captains Suryakumar Yadav and Aiden Markram during the pre-tournament promotions. Or the association of Hardik Pandya and David Miller. The closing moments of the 2024 T20 World Cup were defined by Hardik’s finest hour and Miller’s most painful. After winning matches for Gujarat Titans under Hardik, their bond remains intact.
Surya’s stunning boundary line in Barbados The euphoria of winning a T20 title after 17 years does not fade easily for Indian cricket fans. For South Africa, as they prepare for their World Cup rematch on Sunday, they want to erase any vestiges of that loss from their memory bank.
“We just forgot about it,” Quinton de Kock said on Saturday. “That’s pretty much it. We never talked about it from there.”
The two teams were at the Narendra Modi Stadium exactly two months ago. Even though it was a two-man series, the rounds came quickly at the time. That’s when Sanju Samson was still in the middle of the ball. Abhishek Sharma was beating the skin out of him. Tilak Varma cuts it to every quarter of the land.
That’s all changed. Samson out playing 11, Abhishek cannot buy runs and Varma has found it rather difficult against the slow bowlers.
“I am worried for the people who are worried about Abhishek’s form,” Surya told reporters. “I think about those teams that are going to play against him, he hasn’t scored a goal yet. When he scores, you see what happens.”
“It happens, it’s a team sport,” he added. “The team is asking the kid to play according to his identity. If that happens, that’s OK. If it doesn’t happen, we’re there to cover. Last year, he (hitters) covered for us.”
There are other concerns about Indian batting. Were their hands tied to the spin? The Indian captain says he is cautious of himself.
“On a day when the match doesn’t start, you have to think about what the team needs. If the No. 3 or No. 4 player goes out early, all the pressure comes on the lower order, whose job is actually to give the team firepower and finish the game.”
Facing stickier pitches, this World Cup saw a marked change in India’s batting strategy as they settled for a low-risk game in the middle and relied on their strikers and bowlers to see them through. If the mixed pitch saved for this game was more conducive to hitting play, it could free up home run hitters.
While India sticks to their guns with their top left-handed trio – Abhishek, Ishan Kishan and Varma – a host of left-handed players in South Africa’s batting line-up – Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickleton, Miller and Marko Janssen – could conversely be tempted to play all-rounder Washington Sundar ahead of Axar Patel as the only bowler with a favorable match, not counting Varun Chakravarthy’s spectacles. Dropping vice-captain Axar in a big match would be a big deal, given his superior prowess with the bat.
South Africa played three of their four league matches in Ahmedabad and also survived a big clash with Afghanistan and won two Super Overs. A five-game bilateral series leading up to the World Cup finals means both teams know everything there is to know about each other.
“I think that’s what will make the game so good,” De Kock said. “And to be honest, the teams haven’t really changed much. So I think it’s more about who handles the pressure better and wins the little moments in the game.”
After his return from international exile, De Kock was at the peak of his powers. His battle with Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah on the power play, with some help usually at the start in Ahmedabad, could be a key battle to watch. In what is expected to be a highly tactical battle, analysts for both teams are expected to work overtime to get every move right.
Conformities or instincts? Varun Chakravarthy’s mysterious spin or Keshav Maharaj’s finger spin? Feast or famine for Abhishek? There is a lot of intrigue in this fight between the two heavyweights. As for Morne and Alby, the Morkel brothers; They are assistant coaches for India and South Africa, and they can’t wait for it to be over so they can start talking again.
