5 reasons why South Africa failed at the World T20
As has been the case for a more than a decade now, South Africa started a major tournament as one of the favorites, but limped out of it after the group stages, battling many problems, not one. With a batting firepower equivalent to a fantasy team, and a bowling line-up with lots of options, South Africa looked destined to achieve the elusive silverware.
However, they stumbled, yet again, managing only two wins out of their four group matches in the World T20. Here’s a look at some of the reasons why they couldn’t go past the Super10.
#1 Poor Captaincy from Du Plessis:
Faf du Plessis was a key figure for the CSK franchise in the IPL. He has loads of experience of the Indian pitches and conditions, especially in the T20 format. However, his captaincy hardly exuded the confidence of a winner.
There were no innovative field placements, no inspired bowling changes or bold actions. With no proactive decisions, du Plessis went with the same plan, pace upfront, spin in the middle, and more pace at the end. It gave batsmen the time to gauge the bowling and plan accordingly.
The South Africans believe in a “leadership group”, whereby the load of captaincy is split between senior players. Even with an experienced lot, comprising of Amla, De Villiers and Duminy, the team carried on with the same tried and tested methods, which didn't bring the required results.