The First Semi Final -- and SA Chokes
It was a nerve wracking
match and it was fight to the finish
and one of those matches that kept everyone on their toes . For
match updates , most of us had no need to get to websites to get the latest scores. Many of the
WhatsApp groups had live updates going ! And each group had their predictions and on the state of the
match.
Both teams fought with great intensity and will to win but
just when it mattered the most, SA
faltered and that was in their fielding
and they paid their price for it – A loss at the semifinal stage and again a team with so much promise faltering and not delivering to its potential
I cut short my fitness routine in the morning , to view the match that started at 6.30 AM IST.
I was keen to watch NZ either bat or bowl.. if it was batting , wanted to see
the explosive McCullum and if it was bowling
, watch Boult and Southee. Boult and Southee have been in tremendous form and
have been one of the key success factors for NZ. And my viewing time was limited
to an hour or so – and then off to work
ABD won the toss and I thought – it is happening for SA ..
May be it is their day finally…
De Kock and Amla came
out with faces reflecting lot of tension. I have never see such tense set of
openers. And it did play on their mind and soon poor shots found both the
openers in the pavilion. NZ was piling the pressure on . At one stage , Boult had five slips while bowling the 12th over of the innings
and that can be the extreme of Aggressive Captaincy by McCullum. SA managed to stay afloat during this testing
period. Faf was confidence personified . Roussow managed to hang in. Things
became easier and with ABD in, it was SA
all the way. A rain stop at the 38th over probably is also one of the
reason for SA loosing this match. They
were in a very good position and when play resumed after the rain delay, they
just has five overs against the normal twelve that they would have got to get
to the 50 overs quota per team. However , David Miller was in irrepressible
form and scored a quick fire 49 in 16 balls that left NZ to chase 298 under D/L
method
There was mayhem when McCullum was at the crease .. Jumping
out to the pacers and staying back when served short , McCullum played with Gay
abandon and this set up the NZ chase very nicely. NZ seemed to have faltered
when Morne Morkel got both McCullum and Williamson out and with a run out
getting rid of double century maker Guptill , SA was in command . However a
gutsy partnership between Elliot and Anderson brought NZ right back in to the
match. It was here that SA faltered.. ABD missed a run out , so did De Kock and
then Elliot was dropped .. that was the nail for SA.
Even with all that, they had Steyn to defend 12 runs on the last
over. Steyn was bowling at Vettori and it looked good for SA . But Vettori of
all people squeezed a Four of a wide Yorker and then got off strike with a single.
It was then left to South Africa born Elliot to sink SA.. A thundering six of
the penultimate ball sealed a historic first time entry in to the final for the NZ.
SA have only them to blame for the loss .. they seem to enjoy
the Chokers tag and will carry it on …
Steyn one of the best bowlers in World Cricket may never get to win the World
Cup – So may be Amla , ABD .. this was their last chance and what a missed
opportunity.
For NZ, they are on to Melbourne for the final --- Whom do they want to meet?– traditional neighbors Aussies or the Indians .. Not sure but one thing
for sure – they have to be ready to play on a Big Ground – You cannot hit the
sixes that they did easily on smaller grounds in their home country. It will be
an acid test for them if they want to be the Champions !
Comments