2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by South Africa in their World Cup 2023 semifinal match vs Australia
South Africa's woes at the semifinal stage of World Cups continued as they went down to Australia by three wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, November 16.
The Proteas put up a spirited display, particularly in the second innings. While the spinners kept things tight and beat the bat plenty of times, Gerald Coetzee bowled a fiery spell that threatened to curtail the Australian crawl towards the 213-run target.
However, despite the fight, it must be said that Temba Bavuma and Co. were off the mark tactically for good portions of the game. Several batters played attacking shots at the wrong junctures, while the bowling changes defied logic. The captain must take some of the blame for the side's elimination.
Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by South Africa in their World Cup 2023 semifinal clash against Australia.
#3 Mistake - Temba Bavuma should've started with spin
Travis Head and David Warner were always going to attack against the new ball. Instead of taking pace off the ball, Temba Bavuma opted to feed Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada to the duo.
While Jansen was once again wayward, Rabada's terrible head-to-head record against Warner continued as the Aussie opener laid into the fast bowler. Head, meanwhile, threw his hands at anything wide while clearing the leg-side field whenever possible.
With two lefties at the crease, Bavuma could've thrown the ball to Aiden Markram at the start of the Aussie innings. When the off-spinner was eventually brought on, he castled Warner off his first ball. By that time, though, Australia had raced away to 60/0 in six overs.
#2 Masterstroke - David Miller didn't let Adam Zampa settle
The only reason why South Africa were even in the game was David Miller's sensational century, which vaulted them out of the abyss and gave them something to defend.
It wasn't easy for the batters to counter spin in the middle overs. Despite the game's situation, Miller tried to be positive and lead the counter-attack. Even Adam Zampa, the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2023 World Cup, wasn't spared.
As Zampa bowled too short and too full, Miller smacked anything in his arc over the ropes. The leg-spinner leaked runs throughout his spell and had to be taken out of the attack soon.
Miller could've easily tried to play out Zampa and respect the bowler's threat, but he instead chose to put pressure back on the Aussies.
#1 Mistake - Keshav Maharaj was brought on too late
Ahead of the South Africa vs Australia clash, Keshav Maharaj became the #1-ranked ICC ODI bowler. That distinction was well-deserved, with the left-arm spinner coming up with an incredibly consistent series of displays in the 2023 World Cup.
However, on a turning track in Kolkata, Bavuma waited until well after the powerplay to bring on his premier spinner. The presence of the left-handed Head was probably the reason behind that call, which was truly strange.
Maharaj castled Head immediately after coming on, further proving why Bavuma's decision to hold him back was a terrible one. The Protea skipper got it majorly wrong to give Australia the early edge in the chase.