Once the think tank of Australia sits down on the table
after this match, there are three points that would stand out
1) After winning the first T20 International game ever
and then proceeding to lose the very next game, comprehensively. From that day
on till today, Australia has neither got a stable game plan nor have they got
the winning culture that they have in the other two formats
2) As much as they would deny it, the ghosts of that game in Johannesburg still remain
and comes back to haunt them from time to time, when they play South Africa.
Notably, in throwing away winning causes
3) Shane Watson is central to their fortunes in all the
formats of the game. When it comes to Limited overs it is his bowling that
stands as a differentiator between the teams
At the toss, White was asked if it was individual
efforts that counted in the T20 games or the team effort. His answer was “In
this format, individuals can win you the match in a ball or two. When it boils
down to tight situations, it is the team effort that counts, whatever that
means.” Though it sounded confusing, the words held a lot of value after Theron
hit the winning six
It was Theron’s arrival at the crease that heralded big
shots. Once Theron got the confidence going, Parnell to joined in the fun as he
took apart O’Keefe. Things didn’t seem as easy for the Proteas in the first 14
overs of the game
Tsotsobe started the match in the best possible way for
South Africa- by tying down Warner. Warner would have realised that form counts
for nothing. He came into this series with two consecutive centuries behind him
but failed to get off the mark in both the games. Law of averages as they say
Till Parnell came on to bowl, Australia found it tough
to force the ball of the square and their run-rate was a pathetic 3.4 runs/over
at the end of the fifth over. It was Shaun Marsh that started to get things
moving as he flicked one to the fine-leg boundary and cut one over covers for a
six. He found the going tough against Botha as he was not given the room to go
inside out and the pace did not allow him to adjust late. He compensated for
that by feasting on Parnell again as he drove one past covers and then played a
beautiful lofted drive
That aggression was not to be sustained as Marsh was
dismissed by the returning Theron. Once Hussey was dismissed, the initial
gameplan of Australia to keep the wickets for the end and attack towards the
end also failed. With the dismissals of Smith and White, it seemed that
Australia would be atleast 80 runs short of the par 200 suggested by the
curator
T20 is a game of momentum and debutant Mitchell Marsh
ensured that it was in Australia’s hands going into the break. The way he dealt
with Parnell and Morkel was refreshing. He picked their lengths early and was
in position for every shot that he hit. The 35 runs of these final two overs
could have made a lot of difference in the final analysis
Theron and Parnell ensured that going into the final
overs they would eclipse the hard hitting efforts of Marsh. It was an error of
judgement by White that he did not have either Bollinger or Pattinson to bowl
one of the final four overs. That two overs were to be bowled by either of the
two spinners or Marsh made the task easier for the pair
Once they attacked O’Keefe, the shoulders started to
droop which was evident in Cummins bowling the wides in the penultimate over
and the frenetic field changes by White. It was here that Watson’s absence was
felt the most. With him in the team, it was him who would have bowled at the
death
South Africa have headaches of their own as in the
absence of Kallis and de Villiers, the middle order is virtually non existent.
Though Tsotsobe showed the way to bowl on the pitch, Parnell could not quite
grasp it as he went wide or short most of the time. Morkel had a good time on
the field till the final over when he was taken to the task by Mitchell Marsh
In the absence of Watson, Theron finally found his
groove and got back to his parsimonious ways at the death. Even Amla erred in
sending Botha up the order. Though Botha and Miller seemed to have the chase in
control, they both fell to ambitious strokes at crucial junctures of the match.
If not for the partnership between Parnell and Theron, it would be them having
all the round table meetings heading into the ODI series
Though Australia seemed to have unearthed a couple of
individual talents in the series, they have quite some way to cover in becoming
a force at T20
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