Adapting to conditions is key for SA
Especially the Proteas quick bowlers, who will have to shift their lengths around when they face India in Indore today
THE PROTEAS are requiring that their bowlers compete for every ball. That has been the plan all tour. It certainly was the plan in Kanpur, when they stole Sunday’s opening one-dayer, and it will be the mode of attack this afternoon, in the second match of the series in Indore. “In India, you will go for runs. But if you can control the first five overs, and the last five, then you normally win your games,” bowling coach Charl Langeveldt, observed.
The tourists have found joy in bowling in unconventional areas at these crucial stages of the innings. In Kanpur, on a wicket that was dry and started to crack up, they decided on the ‘back of a length’ theory, trusting their superior pace and intensity to get on top of India.
Today, in Indore, they may well look to that strategy again. The Holkar Cricket Stadium pitch looks another good strip to bat on, and the short straight boundaries may necessitate going shorter, rather than risk being smacked back over your head if you overpitch.
“We will have to adapt to the conditions. I always say, the team that adapts to the conditions the quickest will control the game. We adapted well in the last game. It’s not just about bowling yorkers and slower balls at the death. You never know, you can come into a game and have to change it, depending on the conditions. Even though we were strug- gling, we did that very well in the last 10 overs of the last game,” said Langeveldt.
A large part of South Africa’s psyche is their resolute insistence on forgetting what has come before. Several bowlers have mentioned that, even if an over has been carted for 10 or 12 runs, skipper AB de Villiers still reminds them of the importance of finishing the over strongly. This has resulted in bad overs turning good, like Farhaan Behardien dismissing Rohit Sharma after being hit for a few boundaries. It is not how you start, but how you finish.
“We look to stay in the moment. We probably won’t change our attack for this game, because we try not to change too much. But the key for us is to stay in those big moments,” Langeveldt insisted.
Those big moments have often revolved around Sharma so far on this trip. The Indian opener has fought an almost lone battle, with two hundreds in three innings already. Get him early, it seems, and their batting card looks exposed.
So, how does one stop a run machine? “That is a very good question,” Langeveldt chuckled. “He has been batting amazingly. He looks like one of those guys that you try and knock over in the first 10 balls. Once he gets past 20, he normally kicks on,” he noted.
A key man in the South African plans for Sharma is Dale Steyn, their leader of the pack. Steyn started slowly in his first game of the tour on Sunday, but played a key role at the end, as he gave Kagiso Rabada enough runs to play with. “Dale’s a vital cog in our attack, and has been excellent for us for years,” Langeveldt recalled, when it was put to him that Steyn was not at his best by the local contingent. “He went at five an over in that first game. As a bowling coach, I’ll take that any day.”