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3 costly mistakes South Africa made in their disappointing 2023 World Cup defeat to India

South Africa have already qualified for the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup, but they didn't play like the second-best team in the competition against India on Sunday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

The Proteas slumped to their heaviest ODI defeat by runs in their history as they were rolled over for just 83, their joint second-lowest total in the format. Their net run rate took a massive hit, and more importantly, it didn't seem like they could even compete against the table-toppers.

Needless to say, South Africa were far from on point with their tactics and execution. Temba Bavuma and the team management can look back on this game and pinpoint several areas where they failed to live up to their billing.

Here are three mistakes South Africa made in their crushing World Cup 2023 defeat to India.


#3 Temba Bavuma bowled out Keshav Maharaj in one go

Keshav Maharaj bowled his 10 overs on the trot.
Keshav Maharaj bowled his 10 overs on the trot.

Keshav Maharaj was brought on just after the powerplay, by which time India had raced away to 91/1. He struck in his very first over, castling Shubman Gill with an absolute jaffa.

Following the dismissal, it was clear that the pitch had a lot of assistance for spinners, and captain Temba Bavuma opted to use Maharaj's full quota of 10 overs in one go. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were understandably circumspect against the left-arm spinner, taking just 30 runs off his spell.

With 20 overs still to go in the innings, South Africa's best spinner was bowled out and had only one wicket to show for. Had Bavuma opted to supplement Maharaj with some overs from fast bowlers, India would've had to change their strategy to capitalize on that phase of the innings.

However, it became too easy for Kohli and Shreyas to just play out the spinner and get their eye in before cutting loose against the others. It also left South Africa without some threatening overs in the 30-50 phase.


#2 South Africa didn't get creative in the bowling powerplay

Lungi Ngidi took the new ball for South Africa.
Lungi Ngidi took the new ball for South Africa.

Speaking of the way Maharaj was used, could he have been brought on the opening powerplay for a short burst?

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were finding the boundary with ease as Marco Jansen sprayed it all over the place. While Kagiso Rabada's introduction helped the Proteas increase their control over the innings slightly, runs flowed at the other end.

Bavuma should've turned to his left-arm spinner earlier, especially with the pitch being likely to turn and the Indian batters not always comfortable against that style of bowling. Even Aiden Markram was an option, although there were two right-handers at the crease.


#1 The Proteas' batters went into their shells at the start of the chase

Rassie van der Dussen got sucked into a dot-ball hole.
Rassie van der Dussen got sucked into a dot-ball hole.

Having seen the positive impact Rohit had with his blitzkrieg in the powerplay, South Africa should've tried to adopt the same approach and capitalize on the phase that was most conducive to batting.

However, the visitors made barely any effort to put the Indian bowlers under pressure. After Mohammed Siraj forced Quinton de Kock to chop on, Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen were just happy to block everything out and preserve their wickets.

South Africa made just 35 runs in the first 10 overs, and the batters who stayed risk-free, Bavuma and Van der Dussen, couldn't carry on and milk runs later. Even if they survived Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami, respectively, they surely wouldn't have been able to take their team to a win, with batting becoming tougher by the over.


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