The win, which wasn't enough!

It was all confusion when the play of the day started. India and South Africa fans were supporting Australia while Pakistan fans were supporting South Africa. The target for game 1 was 112 for Australia, 149 for Pakistan, 150 for India and South Africa. The target for game 2 was 121 for India, 122 for Pakistan and 153 for South Africa.

The end of game 1 ensured no place for the chokers. But this time, they were in situation where they could choke the other team (which they did eventually). The big margin win for Pakistan over Australia meant an uphill task for India. Not only  did India have to win, but with a big margin. The toss was the important factor at that time for India, as they are good chasers. With the need to improve NRR, India would have loved to bat 2nd and chase the runs in the required no. of overs. But the toss didn’t help India and were invited by South Africa to bat 1st. That meant India had to win by a margin of 31 runs.

There was no other option for India, except for starting the innings with a flash. Gambhir thrashed the 1st ball through covers and showed his intentions. But these intentions lasted only for a few minutes as India lost their top 3 very early in the innings. It needed a typical Sehwag spark in the opening for India to set a huge target; which could be defended by a 31 run window. But the good start did not happen as well as Virat failed to score heavy. The expected target needed to be reduced for India after that start with the middle overs going slowly. And in the end, Dhoni and Raina hit a few big strokes to help India get a chance to go through.

Indian bowling had their biggest test, having only 121 runs to defend. Zak started in style getting the dangerous Amla for a duck. Pathan got another danger man Kallis, and both Pathan and Zak bowled a brillian opening spell. But Faf du Plessis had other ideas and had a goal of showing his captain what the team missed in the last couple of games by dropping him. He played brilliantly against both spinners and pacers. Moreover, he played fast that pushed India on the back foot. Meanwhile, the other side kept falling, Robin got out twice in 2 balls but none of them counted, Balaji and Ashwin tried hard, Pak fans kept on cheering and much more, none of them being positive for India. 121 were always going to be difficult to defend, and South Africa reached the target in the 17th over.

After that game no. 2, having a target of 153 started. Zak bowled a brilliant 18th over getting 2 wickets, Ashwin also did a fair job with 10 for 1 in the 19th. It was all left for the last over. Balaji got the baal to defend 14 runs, and guess what, he went for sixes twice and both times got a wicket with his very next delivery. And India finished 1 run more than of the opposition, but this time it was rare, as both the teams weren’t happy with the result.