New Delhi: T20 is a game of phases: the Powerplay, the middle overs and the death. The data analysts place distinct demands on the team for each. But sometimes, a match shows us that the only true currency in a tight game is nerves. You can have all the strategy in the world but if you don’t have heart, you’ll never make it over line.
On Wednesday, South Africa and Afghanistan needed a final over made in cricket’s chaotic heaven and two Super Overs to decide a winner. Everything that happened before seemed destined to matter little in a match that significantly strengthened South Africa’s chances of making the Super Eight while virtually knocking Afghanistan out.
The official result will read ‘Match tied (South Africa won the 2nd Super Over)’ but in the end, the sad part is that someone had to end up on the losing side.
“Cricket sucks,” said South Africa batter Ryan Rickleton when asked about his reaction to the win. “That’s the number one thought. Yes, it was a cracking game. I actually don’t even have many words to describe it. Just really chuffed we got over the line in the end.”
In what was a game of fine margins, the result could have so easily gone a different way. Come the last over of the match, Afghanistan needed 13 runs and had just one wicket in hand. South Africa skipper Aiden Markram threw the ball to his most experienced bowler, Kagiso Rabada.
Noor Ahmad was caught at cover off the first ball but the pacer had started off with a no-ball. A wide was next and then, a dot. Three balls into the over, just one of them was legal. Then, Noor smashed one over deep backward square for a six. Another dot ball followed before Rabada bowled another no-ball.
It came down to Afghanistan needing two of three balls and they had a free-hit too. The match should have been won right there but chaos followed. Noor drilled the ball to long-off and set off for two – the first was completed easily but Fazalhaq Farooqi was caught a millimetre short of completing the second. The match was tied and the tournament got its first Super Over.
“We’ll give KG (Rabada) a bit of time, but we’ll get our arms around him. We’ll probably get a couple of drinks down him later. And yeah, he’s one of us through thick and thin, so he’s always going to be there,” said Rickleton when asked about the over.
There’ll be some more stuff to get through though. Afghanistan hit 17 runs in the first Super Over with Azmatullah Omarzai striking it big against Lungi Ngidi.
Anything over 15 gives a team a very good chance in the Powerplay and it looked like that until Tristan Stubbs, with seven needed to win, hammered a six off the final ball to tie the match for the second time.
This time, South Africa took first strike. David Miller and Stubbs combined to hit three sixes on their way to scoring 23 runs.
Then, for the final over, the Proteas chose the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj. Perhaps, they thought that they had enough on board and two balls into the over (two dots and a wicket), they certainly would have felt that way.
But then with 24 needed in four balls, Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit three consecutive sixes to make it six off one. The batter picked out the fielder at point to be dismissed for 18. The game finally ended with Gurbaz’s hands on his head, unable to look up.
Ngidi was adjudged Player of the Match for his incredible spell (4-0-26-3) during regulation time.
“Lost so much weight today,” said Ngidi later. “Never been this stressed in my life in a cricket game.”
The result showed that in T20, there is no perfect game. Just the one that gets you the win. South Africa should have closed it out, then Afghanistan should have done it. Both had multiple chances to do it until the game and the players finally ran out of steam.
