Last week saw some dominant displays from Afghanistan and South Africa. South Africa was absolutely brutal in disposing of their opponents except for The Netherlands, whereas Afghanistan, was at their clinical best against Pakistan. The domination of South Africa and the display of Afghanistan were not expected. Afghanistan have almost put their southern neighbour on the brink. This World Cup is producing results that were not expected before the start of the tournament. First, the Netherlands shock and now, Afghanistan. I believe that Afghanistan is not finished in this tournament. They will fancy their chances against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This blog is about Afghanistan and South Africa’s efficiency.
South Africa would not have figured in anyone’s final 4 list. The usual suspects, India, England, Australia and Pakistan / New Zealand would have been the choice for most of the cricket experts. I wasn’t different either though I do not qualify as a cricketing expert. South Africa has so far shown that they are here in India on a mission and that they must not be taken lightly by any team. The 200-odd runs annihilation of England must serve as a wake up call for any team that did not take South Africa seriously. Quinton Kock is in the form of his life. This is his last ODI World Cup and he is very much determined to make it count. 3 hundreds in 5 games is Bradmanesque consistency.
The batsmen having merry
Klaasen down the order relishes in taking apart opposition bowling. The sheer brutality of his runs must demoralise any team before they begin their innings. 3 of the top 5 scores in this World Cup belong to South Africa. The leading run scorer so far is a South African and they have blitzed their way to the first 400+ total. By the looks of it, there is more to come. However, one glaring factor is that they have pulverized attacks while batting first but came a cropper while chasing against the Netherlands. What happened that night? Were they unable to pace the chase? Were they not sure whether to go on the attack or bat in the traditional way? Unwittingly, they may have shown the way for the opponents to defeat them. That is for the latter part of the tournament.
For now, South Africa, except for that odd glitch is looking pretty hungry. They have never won the World Cup despite being among the favourites multiple times. This time around, they were not among the favourites and that perhaps, is aiding them. There is much less pressure and as a result, they are able to express themselves which has created havoc in a lot of venues. They took Bazball to the pioneers of that game and destroyed them with a mountain of runs.
Quinton sets the pace
Quinton at the top is looking to make his final appearance count. It can be seen from his hunger to keep scoring runs. Whereas earlier, he used to get out for a middling score, now he looks to stay right till the end and take the team to an unassailable position.
“We all know Quinny to be a free-spirited guy he is but he has a really good cricket brain,” Aiden Markram, South Africa’s stand-in captain, said afterwards. “He assesses conditions well and communicates that to us even before we get out onto the field. You never want to clip his wings, you just want to let him fly.”
One of the major reasons for South Africa’s ascent is their batting during the death overs. With the exception of Australia, they were able to score more than 100 runs in the last 10 overs. They have an average run rate of 12.28 during the last 10 overs. The second-placed New Zealand is way behind at 8.16. The credit for this must go to Quinton who ensured that he was batting during the 35th over mark thereby paving the way for power hitters to take over.
The Afghanistan moment
In the previous 7 games between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Afghanistan ended up on the wrong side. The statistics read 7-0 in favour of Pakistan. If Pakistan expected to secure 2 points, they could not be faulted. However, what transpired at Chennai was something completely devoid of logic. Pakistan lost, yes, but how did they lose? They were outplayed. It cannot be said about their previous 7 meetings. The chase was nothing but clinical.
Long after the match was done and dusted, the Afghan supporters stood around the stadium cheering their team. The players promptly acknowledged the support that they received by taking a lap of honour. It was a wonderful moment. Never once during the game did Afghanistan show that they were the underdogs. They were unfazed by the number 2 ranked team in ODIs. What stood out during the chase was the brilliant running between the wickets. Every batsmen ran as quickly as he could so that singles can be converted into doubles incase of a misfield of which there were many. This victory will rank higher than the one against England.
“Unbelievable! This is bigger than a World Cup for the Afghans. (It’s) simply our biggest victory in history yet,” said Norman Mirza, a cricket analyst from Afghanistan. “Congratulations on your big and historic victory. Long live Afghanistan,” said Ashraf Ghani, the country’s president in exile.
Wrapping up Afghanistan and South Africa’s efficiency
Afghanistan may spring a surprise or two more. They will fancy their chances against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Onething is for sure. Afghanistan cricket, especially in white-ball, is set to rise. If they are given proper exposure, they will be a force to reckon with, atleast in Asia, in the next 10 years. The spin bowling talent in that country is mindboggling and batsmen like Gurbaz and Zadran are a treat to watch. As for South Africa, they will hope that this successful run continues. India is on their way and so is Australia.
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