T20 World Cup 2021: 3 positives for South Africa
Another ICC tournament and yet another disappointing campaign for South Africa. Despite winning four of their five games in Group 1 of the T20 World Cup 2021, the Proteas missed out on the semi-finals on net run rate (NRR).
Their only loss came against Australia in their tournament opener, which they lost narrowly by five wickets and two deliveries to spare. South Africa subsequently won all their four remaining games, including against table-toppers England in their last match.
However, they failed to improve their NRR enough to pip Australia to second place after three teams finished with four wins apiece.
The ultimate praise for #SouthAfrica this #T20WorldCup https://t.co/OF329Z33ZY
Despite their exit, there were plenty of positives for the young South African team at the T20 World Cup 2021. Here's a look at three of them:
#1 Growth of Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram as batters
Rassie van der Dussen had an impressive T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. In five innings, he scored 177 runs at an average of 59 and strike rate of 116.45.
Batted at number 3, he showed a lot of maturity while playing the role of an accumulator. Once he got his eye in, he played a key role in two of South Africa's wins. His unbeaten innings of 94 off 60 balls against England proved he is capable of playing aggressively against the very best in business.
Aiden Markram, meanwhile, also had an impressive T20 World Cup 2021 campaign. He scored 162 runs from five innings at an impressive strike rate of 145.95.
He scored two half-centuries at a brisk clip. His unbeaten knock of 51 against West Indies came at a strike rate of 196.15, while against England, he scored 52 off 25 at a strike rate of 208.
🔄 CHANGE OF INNINGS
Rassie van der Dussen sent the ball to all parts of the ground to top-score with an unbeaten 94 and found support in Aiden Markam (52*) and Quinton de Kock (34) as we post 189/2
📝 Full scorecard ➡️ bit.ly/3xc4ho5
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The duo of Rassie van der Duseen and Aiden Markram were exceptional for South Africa with the bat. They will now look forward to continuing their exploits in subsequent tournaments.
#2 Maturity of Dwaine Pretorius as a bowler
Dwaine Pretorius had an exceptional T20 World Cup 2021 campaign as a bowler. The bowling all-rounder was selected ahead of Wiaan Mulder, and did not disappoint.
In five matches at the tournament, he bagged nine wickets at an average of 11.22. He had an exceptional economy rate of 6.89, which is impressive, as he bowled mostly at the death.
His key scalps comprised Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone, to new a few. South Africa found the perfect fifth bowling option in Pretorius, and the bowler lived up to expectations.
#3 Impressive performances by South Africa's spinners
The South African spin duo of Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj produced impressive performances in the T20 World Cup 2021. While Maharaj did the bulk of the bowling in the power-play, Shamsi was exceptional in the middle overs.
Shamsi picked up eight wickets at an average of 15.13 and an exceptional economy rate of 6.37. He did the dual job of picking up wickets and controlling the run rate in the middle overs. His performances is evidence that he is one of the best spinners in the world in T20Is at the moment.
Meanwhile, Keshav Maharaj did not pick up many wickets as Shamsi. But his economy rate of 6.68 was exceptional, as he bowled mostly in the powerplay overs. He picked up three wickets at a decent average of 42.33.
South Africa have a young T20I team, and will likely be a force to be reckoned with in the format for a while