Super Sixes SRL | IND vs SA Evaluation Chart - Openers help India demolish South Africa in a must-win game

ByAakash Sivasubramaniam,SportsCafe Editor

04/29/2020

The game was the epitome of everything T20 has to offer - runs, wickets and some brilliant cameos throughout the game and ultimately India came out of on the top. India’s win was aided by the support of the majestic Indian openers alongside some dominant display coming in from the bowlers.

Match Review

Let’s just talk about the Indian openers, how beautiful was their partnership, how elegant was their shots and moreso, how crucial was their runs for the team’s victory. Taking on the likes of Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and co is not a joke and the way they did it - there was nothing wrong about it, it was magnificent! Alongside the late cracker-jack of an innings from the youngster Rishabh Pant, India got to a massive total of 227/4, which can win you games on many T20 nights and this is just one of them.

South Africa’s chances of getting past India’s total depended on their start and in particular, their skipper - Quinton de Kock. When the entire nation’s hopes are on one shoulder, you know the result as de Kock stumbled for an early exit. Following his early exit, the Proteas lost two more quick ones in the form of Temba Bavuma and Henrich Klassen leaving it all for the middle-order to make amends. And, for most parts of the day, they did and scored in a crazy fashion, even besting the Indian opening partnership. However, it was too much too late for them as they fell short by a handsome 45 runs.

Turning Point

Indian openers and their partnership totally changed the game in India’s favour, with their tournament form not being the best of ones. However, they did not let the past affect them - scoring runs at a crazy rate, sometimes making us wonder if they were humans or aliens playing on a different planet. Before South Africa could strike for the first time, they had already reached 106/0 and by then the game was entirely theirs to take. Meanwhile, it changed South Africa’s entire momentum.

Highs and Lows

Rohit Sharma’s back-to-form innings was truly a thing of beauty for the Indian fans. In the tournament thus far, the right-hander has struggled to keep pace with his own expectations, scoring an odd fifty. However, this time around, he totally changed the entire scenario of the game, with his world-class 81 runs off just 48 deliveries. And, alongside his opening partner, KL Rahul, India got off to the best of starts, eventually over-powered for South Africa to handle later in the day.

Quinton de Kock’s rare failure was the lowest point of the game. While after the first innings, the total looked daunting, it was still a possible run-chase, given de Kock’s purple-form. It would have been the best of sights to look at him play his shots and give the Proteas a chance against the water at chasing India’s gigantic first-innings total. While not only his dismissal set them on the wrong foot, it also left a huge hole that was too big for the others to fill eventually on the night.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: India 8/10 and South Africa 4/10

Okay then, this is the time - where I could put down all the adjectives to describe how well the Indian opening partnership was, how well the openers played. It was a thing of beauty, some will say, I would say it was one of the best approaches in the powerplay thus far in the tournament. Given that sides know only two ways to play - go boom or bust, it was right in the middle, having elements of the boom and also maintaining the sanity to take the game safely past the powerplay. They scored a total of 58 runs in the powerplay and that was just the start, safe to say!

Contrastingly, the Proteas’ powerplay exploitation was ‘U, G and H’ of the word Ugh. They had no idea what they had in their plate, with the pressure of chasing such a huge total have an adverse effect on their playing style. Not only did they start off slow but their approach was kind of stupid given that they needed to get over 10 runs every over for a shot at leapfrogging India’s total. In the first six, they could only put up a total of 35 runs and more importantly lost three crucial wickets, making a huge dent on their Ferrari.

Middle-overs manoeuvring: India 7/10 and South Africa 6/10

India kept their sanity throughout the innings after the quick-start. Not only did they manage to get 58 runs in the powerplay, but they also added 48 in the next four taking the total to 106/0 after the first half of their innings. To top it all, in the second half of the middle-overs, they increased the scoring rate, scoring 17 and 10 runs in the 13th and 14th over to enable the lower-order for a grandstand finish.

South Africa’s middle-over manoeuvring was the best part of the entire game - such elegance and class from the ever-dependant veteran David Miller. Miller milled the heads of the cricket ball and the Indian bowlers, sometimes outwitting them at their own game. And to be really particular, it was the phase between Overs 11 and 15, when things took a massive turn for de Kock’s side. The duo of Miller-der Dussen scored 65 runs just in the span of five overs, talk about power-hitting.

Death bowling: India 7/10 and South Africa 2/10

India’s death bowling was good, better but honestly, what was there really for them in hand - so many runs that they could easily defend. And out of the so many runs that they had in their hands, they conceded just 48 runs in the last five, which is not bad in T20 cricket. On top of that, they even picked up a wicket, which was just the bonus on top of their incredible batting display early on. The odd wides and the odd sixes is what they would want to cut short the next time they take on a team.

Oh, where do I start about this dismal bowling performance? The Proteas bowlers just were horrible, terrible and the 100 other synonyms for worse. They conceded 70 RUNS in just the end overs, allowing India to get to a huge-total, which really became impossible for them to chase later on in the night. While all credits to their bowlers for giving away runs is really unfair as the Indian middle-order did their job, smacking them across to all parts of the ground.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Thriller

It had phases of everything and defined modern-day cricket, which is plenty of runs and a crazy number of boundaries. From the Indian openers to the South African middle-order, everyone was right there when it came to entertaining the audience, scoring massive sixes and thunderous boundaries. Overall, the game was a thriller till South Africa’s death overs.