T20 World Cup 2024: How South Africa is able to find ways to win close matches; What’s working for them? South Africa remain unbeaten in the tournament so far.
South Africa, led by Aiden Markram, are on a six-match winning streak in the T20 World Cup 2024 and are on the cusp of reaching the semi-finals. Though they are in a strong position to reach the last four, their road has not been smooth.
In the Super Eight game against England, they endured a topsy-turvy ride to script a thrilling seven-run win. Proteas have achieved their last five wins without being clinical. They have rather secured hard fought victories. More often the team has been put under pressure but someone or the other stepped up to ensure South Africa comes out on top.
So let us see how South Africa managed to find ways to win close games
A batting unit in fine touch
South Africa will be delighted with joy on how their batters have played thus far in the tournament. Almost all the batters have been amongst runs and it has helped them big way. If it was the likes of Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs who won them games in the league stages, Quinton de Kock’s twin fifties helped them sail past the finish line in two Super Eight games.
Skipper Aiden Markram, though hasn’t scored much, showed some decent form. So, this augurs well for the Proteas going into the business end of the tournament where their top to middle-order has been in decent form. Having a high-functioning batting unit is a luxury most teams crave for.
Bowlers complementing batters
The pitches at the Caribbean and the USA have assisted the bowlers in this World Cup. It is fair to say that South Africa’s bowlers have made the best use of it. The case in example is South Africa’s Super Eight clash versus England.
On what was seemingly a slow surface, they had just 163 runs to defend against the might of England batting line-up. Once again, their bowlers were up to the task. Though there were some hiccups, a complete bowling performance from them enabled the team to steal a seven-run win over the defending champions.
Variety in bowling attack
One way to describe South Africa’s bowling attack is their flexibility. They have bowlers who can bowl at all situations of a given innings, per demand. With two quality tearaway pacers in Kagsio Rabada and Anrich Nortje, they also possess an ideal supporting pacer in Otteneil Baartman who can bowl with the new ball as well as at the death.
If you look for variations, left-arm seamer Marco Jansen adds a different dimension to their line-up. Moreover, he bowled beautifully against England. Spinner Keshav Maharaj has been a revelation for the team in this format. He was the best bowler on the day for South Africa taking 2/25.
Expert captaincy from Aiden Markram
Huge compliments should go to Aiden Markram for the way he has been leading the side in the tournament. Though he hasn’t scored a truckload of runs, his bowling changes and fielding placements have been top notch. Adding to that, Markram’s incredible catch to dismiss a rampaging Harry Brook changed the game on its head. Also, he has not been afraid to change the batting order as per demands. He also sacrificed his own batting position for the team’s cause.