Proteas slip at Wanderers
Aussies scramble over the line to set up Newlands decider
KAGISO RABADA had already ripped a 148.3 km/h yorker through Aaron Finch’s defences, and taken a ludicrous catch on the third man boundary, so it was natural to assume he could defend 11 runs in the final over.
Sadly, for him, this incredibly raucous crowd and the South African team, came up short. Although he took a wicket with the first ball of that final over – another superb full delivery that cleaned up David Warner, who scored an outstanding 77 – he also bowled two wides and Australia scrambled to victory off the last ball. At least there can be no doubting KG is human.
But in no way can this defeat be laid at the feet of Rabada. Rather South Africa came up short in other areas, starting with the bat.
A total of 200 is one any batting team would rip your arm off for, but the Wanderers is a special venue – chasing big totals is almost the norm here. In five days’ time it will be the 10th anniversary of the 438 game. Last year, the West Indies chased over 230 to beat South Africa, so a target of 205, while substantial, was certainly not beyond the capabilities of a powerful and deep batting order like Australia’s.
South Africa may regret the fact that they didn’t show more aggression through the middle period. It was a mix of intent that was lacking and some very skilful bowling from James Faulkner, that hampered the South Africans until captain Faf du Plessis led a late-innings blitz.
After being asked to bat, South Africa started well despite the early loss of AB de Villiers. Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock, who made 44 off 28 balls, added 62 for the second wicket at just shy of 10 runs an over.
De Kock’s dismissal brought the Australians back into the contest, with JP Duminy unable to get up to speed quickly enough.
David Miller, with 33 off 18 balls that included a pair of fours and sixes, was just reigniting the South African innings when he got out to debutant Ashton Agar, and it was left to Du Plessis to put the finishing touches on South Africa’s innings.
His scoring was deceptively quick. His 50 only took 33 balls, before his assault on the giant John Hastings in the final over – in which he smashed 20 runs, before David Wiese launched a last ball six to the top of the Centenary Stand - saw South Africa surpass 200.
Weirdly, it felt about 20 runs short. This is the Wanderers after all.
Rabada made it feel a long way off for the Australians with the brilliant dismissal of Finch and then that stupendous one-handed overhead grab, and with Dale Steyn bowling accurately on his return to the international fold, South Africa had the initiative. They gave it away though. Du Plessis defended his decision to bowl Wiese and Imran Tahir in tandem and in single spells, by saying the surface didn’t suit them. “Dave relies on wickets that grip a bit, which is why he is so successful in Indian conditions. This pitch was really good and the ball just skidded on,” Du Plessis explained.
He didn’t want to use any of his death bowling options either, just to change up the rhythm of the Australian batsmen, believing Rabada, Chris Morris and Steyn, provided greater value later on in the innings.
As a result David Warner and Glenn Maxwell settled in comfortably and eventually set a new world record for the fourth wicket in a T20 international – also the fourth highest partnership in T20Is ever – as they put on 161.
Between them they hit 13 fours and eight sixes, but perhaps the best feature of their partnership was the running between the wickets. Both were dismissed late.
It didn’t matter though, the depth of Australia’s batting did what it’s supposed to do and their win leaves a tantalising decider in prospect at Newlands on Wednesday.