Australia found their way to get those two crucial points in their first game of the Super 12 in the T20 World Cup against South Africa.
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Australia huffed and puffed their way to get those two crucial points in their first game of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It wasn’t really South Africa’s day but they put up a spirited effort. They had a massive job to do defending just 118. Temba Bavuma’s men made the first match of the Super 12s in the 2021 T20 World Cup a nail bitter. Australia persevered and persevered. With the benefit of a few players coming off a good IPL, they knew just what to do on a slow Abu Dhabi pitch. Josh Hazlewood, with figures of 4-1-19-2, and Glenn Maxwell with 4-0-24-1 were particularly tricky to deal with, their tight lines and into-the-wicket style completely tying the opposition down.
A tense game that went down to the wire eventually saw Australia come out on ? #AUSvSA report ? #T20WorldCup https://t.co/3lYOtHSLKo
— ICC (@ICC) October 23, 2021
South Africa’s form heading into this T20 World Cup was they had beaten the current world champions and former world champions in back-to-back T20I series. They wouldn’t have wanted to crumble like this. But they did, starting with Bavuma, who edged the third ball of spin and lost his stumps. A bizarre dismissal of Quinton de Kock kind of showed it wasn’t going to be South Africa’s day. He got into a tangle while looking to pull Hazlewood but the ball dropped from his body, slowly bounced onto the woodwork. The big Aussie struck with his first and seventh deliveries leaving South Africa in big early trouble and skipper Finch turned the screws from there on. South Africa were 29 for 3 by the end of the powerplay.
Aiden Markram and David Miller tried to pick up the pieces through the middle overs, but a double-wicket over from Adam Zampa put a stop to that. The legspinner has always been key to Australia’s limited-overs fortunes in recent years, and he was able to break the partnership with a googly that the batter failed to read. Miller saw a ball on his pads and went for the big sweep. It turned the wrong way and pinned him in front. That little bit of magic, combined with excellent discipline from the fast bowlers, forced South Africa from 80 for 4 to 83 for 7 in the space of six balls.
The last wicket of that collapse was rather gruesome. Keshav Maharaj hit the ball to point and wanted a single which wasn’t there. Markram responded at first, but changed his mind and only just made his ground. The throw though beat the fielder backing up and that prompted Maharaj to look for the single again, only Markram saw none of it because his back was turned. By the time Maharaj cottoned on, he was halfway down the pitch and, in his hurry to get back, he slipped and fell and became a punch line.
In the end, Stoinis showed he is a much improved player in that finisher role and it showed at the vital moments, hitting three boundaries in the 19th and 20th overs to get the Australians to the finish line.
