2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their World Cup 2023 match vs South Africa
Team India's run in the 2023 World Cup is turning out to be one of the dominant displays ever in cricket's most prestigious event.
The Men in Blue extended their marauding run on Sunday, November 5, as they hammered second-placed South Africa by 243 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. With the win, they secured top spot in the league with a game to go, winning all eight contests so far.
India have been near spotless, but even in a win as comprehensive as the one over the Proteas, there were a couple of areas of improvement. There were also a great deal of smart decisions.
Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by Team India in their World Cup 2023 clash against South Africa.
#3 Mistake - India missed perhaps their last chance to rest players
India had three games in quick succession - against England, Sri Lanka and South Africa. They went in with an unchanged side over this run and might have missed out on their last chance to rest players.
The Men in Blue now have a week off before they take on the Netherlands in their final league fixture. They presumably wouldn't want to make changes then because of the prolonged break and the consequent possibility of rust setting in.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have played every game of the World Cup so far, with Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer returning from long-term back injuries just ahead of the tournament. They were real candidates to be given a breather.
It has turned out well for India, with the fast-bowling duo having barely any bowling workload against South Africa and going through their motions without incident. However, having seen what happened to Lungi Ngidi in the very same game, the hosts should've played it safe and made some changes with the bigger picture in mind.
#2 Masterstroke - Ravindra Jadeja was proactively brought on as the first change
Having played only half of India's games, Mohammed Shami has already become their highest wicket-taker in the 2023 World Cup. The fast bowler has been brought on as the first change in all of their games so far.
Against South Africa, though, captain Rohit Sharma was proactive and brought on Ravindra Jadeja after Bumrah and Siraj ended their four-over powerplay bursts. The left-arm spinner struck immediately by castling Temba Bavuma as the hosts took control of the contest.
Bavuma was guilty of not bringing on Keshav Maharaj when Rohit and Shubman Gill were tearing into the South African bowlers. Meanwhile, the Indian captain went against the grain to keep the red-hot Shami waiting, and it paid off.
#1 Mistake - India weren't as attacking as they could've been at the death
Just before Shreyas Iyer was dismissed at the end of the 37th over, India were superbly placed at 227-2. Even after the No. 4 batter had walked back, the Men in Blue had plenty of batting resources in the shed and positive matchups in the opposition even as the pitch proved challenging.
However, despite Marco Jansen bowling almost four overs in the last 10 - a role he's not accustomed to - and Shamsi sending down four as well, India couldn't explode in the 10-over phase after Iyer's dismissal. Virat Kohli struggled to find the middle of his bat, while KL Rahul labored to eight off 17 before holing out in the deep.
Rahul's innings was particularly strange, with the batter being more than happy to play a series of dots even though he had an excellent platform to tee off from. It was wholly inconsequential in the end, given the margin of victory, but the man at No. 5 and some of the others could've batted with more aggression.