SA vs AUS | 2nd T20I Ask Me Anything ft. Not-so-David Warner and Anrich 'ice cold' Nortje
GEE WHIZ! What is up with South Africa and T20 matches? They just seem to be producing one classic after another, don't they? Today's encounter was the FOURTH classic in the last FIVE matches in this country. But hold on, what actually happened this time?
Soooo! What happened in the bat flip?
Oopsie, I see you’re still in Big Bash mood. In case you forgot, international matches employ ‘toss’ instead of a ‘bat flip’. Anyway, though, it was South Africa who won the toss and elected to bat first. Pretty obvious, right? Who would want to chase again after such a hideous performance?
Did Temba pass the fitness test?
Unfortunately, no. Bavuma missed today’s match as well, and it was Reeza Hendricks who took his place today (technically, he took JJ Smuts’ place, I should say).
KABOOOM! How good were the fireworks from Reeza today?
Ummm, as good as the six-hitting ability of Jonathan Trott, I suppose? Yet another match where it felt like Hendricks wouldn’t cut it at the international level. All he could manage was 17-ball 14. He did support Quinton well, though.
QUINNNY! How did Quinny do?
Amazing as always. South Africa have no idea how lucky they are to have this boy around, let me tell you. He was treating Starc and Cummins like they were net bowlers of the KwaZulu-Natal state team. He dispatched everything in his zone - which in the kind of form he is in is the whole freakin pitch - and he scored YET ANOTHER fifty. Just the 70 off 47 balls today.
Apologies for the interruption, but Steve Smith was trending on Twitter when I logged in some time ago. Why? WAS IT FOR THE WRONG REASONS?
Hah. You all should stop judging Smith, you know. Anyway, the reason why he was trending was THIS.
This is just unbelievable fielding from Steve Smith.
— The Oracle (@BigOtrivia) February 23, 2020
Don’t think I’ve seen better. #Superman pic.twitter.com/FtfzhcuTwz
WOW. MY BAD. THAT IS INSANE. Either way, enlighten me about South Africa’s middle-order
Honestly, there is nothing much to talk about. It was yet another soulless, disappointing showing where they yet again, somehow, managed to mess up the platform that de Kock laid for them. They just don’t seem to learn from their mistakes, do they?
Can we have some details, please?
FINE. Du Plessis, Van der Dussen and David Miller COMBINEDLY hit just five boundaries between them, four of which came off the bat of RVD. To put it not-so-harshly, it was an atrocious batting performance from their middle-order.
Okay, we’re talking too much about the Proteas. What about them Aussie bowlers?
Glad you asked. In the first six overs, they were all over the place, but boy did they not bounce back in style after the powerplay. It was a masterclass of how to bowl on a slow surface, I’d say. It was that man Agar, again.
What did he do this time?
Hah, gotcha. Yes, he was at it again, but no, he did not take any wickets. He, alongside, Richardson, was Australia’s best bowler, but unlike the latter, who took two wickets, Agar went wicketless. It was a solid performance from him, nevertheless.
And what about Starc and Cummins?
They blew hot and cold. They did showcase glimpses of their best in phases, but as a whole, the two had an off day. 8-0-69-1 was their combined figures for the night.
I remember reading 172 being the average score at this venue in this year’s MSL. How much did South Africa get to, again?
Wayyyyyy below par. 158 was all they could manage. Given the kind of start they had - 59/0 off 6 overs - I was expecting them to score 180. Well, sport never works out that way, does it?
158 sounds decent to me. How did the Aussie openers fair?
Finch and Warner got off to an absolute flyer. They got to 48 off just 4 overs but then BOOM, then came the golden arm of Ngidi. He sent Finch’s stump for a walk.
Please don’t tell me Steyn got battered again :(
I don’t know if this will make you happy or sad, but, well, Steyn did not play today. Not sure if he was rested or dropped, but yep, it was Anrich Nortje who took his place in the side today.
That is...weird. How did Nortje fare, anyway?
Not bad at all. In fact, I’d say that he exceeded expectations. He just conceded 21 off his first three overs.
And what about this final over?
Spoiler alert. I shall reveal the answer towards the end.
WHAT? Okay. Anyway, a chase of 159 seems tailor-made for someone like a Smith. Did he kill it?
He did threaten to tee off, mind you. He did. But he was undone by an absolute beaut of a catch from Faf du Plessis. He still managed to score 29 runs, though.
OH NO I FORGOT ABOUT WARNER. WHAT DID HE DO?
Again, spoiler alert. I shall reveal the answer towards the end.
Oh come on. Not again. Don’t do this, please. Could you at least tell me how Maxwell's replacements - Marsh and Wade - performed?
Yes, this I can reveal. And they were…. HORRENDOUS. 7 off 10 balls was what they managed, COMBINED.
Oh again, I’m getting lost in one team. Coming to the Proteas bowlers, who was their best bowler today?
Multiple candidates, I must tell you. In fact, if you were to ask me, I’d say that every single bowler did his job to perfection today. Shamsi choked the batsmen - conceding just 17 runs off his 4 overs - Ngidi opened the floodgates by picking three wickets and Nortje, well. I’m not supposed to reveal that, am I?
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WHAT HAPPENED TO WARNER AND NORTJE AND WHO WON THE MATCH?
I shall reveal the answer now. So basically, Warner stayed unbeaten and batted till the very last ball of the innings… BUT…..BUT… He was not able to take Australia to victory as he was denied by Anrich Nortje, who bowled the last over and defended 17 runs off it. And to clear the air, Nortje finished with figures of 1/24 and Warner remained unbeaten on 67.
WHAT? HOW? How could that happen? How can an opener stay unbeaten and not take his team home?
You don’t see that everyday, do you? I suspect that it was the slow nature of the pitch that was responsible for it. But saying that, it was a massive choke from Australia. They needed 42 off 30 balls with 8 wickets in hand at one stage. They bottled it big time, you have to say.
ARGH! Looks like I missed one of the all time classics. Sooooo, what next?
Indeed. It was as good as any match from the England series. A big yayyyy for low-scoring encounters, eh? Well, the teams will now move to NEWLANDS, CAPE TOWN to play out the decider. You are still wondering why I put “Newlands, Cape Town” in capital letters? Ask Steve Smith and David Warner, they will tell you why!