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David Miller wrapped Gerald Coetzee in his arms.
Keshav Maharaj was standing with his knees bent. Both Marco Jansen and Kagiso
Rabada removed their headgear to display signs of dissatisfaction.
Half-crumpled, half-crouching on the ground, Quinton de Kock stood to get high
fives of commiseration from Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen, along with
congratulations on a decade-long career played in the One-Day Cricket format.
Leading the team out of Eden Gardens, Temba Bavuma shook hands and made eye
contact with their Australian counterparts. Yes, this was defeat, but it wasn’t
done in dishonour, as Coetzee had stated earlier.
As Rabada had stated prior to the semifinal, South
Africa battled “tooth and nail”. And nerve, muscle, sinew, and
spirit. They fully committed to it. They were forced to do so as a result of
some choices they made and the manner they began using the bat and the ball,
which may be considered personal shortcomings. However, that would be
detrimental to their own preparation and performance as well as the manner
Australia’s opening batsmen and new-ball bowlers got things going.
Did Bavuma choose to bat at the toss and make a
mistake? Yes, in retrospect, we might say, but history was not against him.
Bavuma chose to play to South Africa’s advantage and based his decision on
statistics, but perhaps it is worth taking into account if he made a
significant mistake. However, he didn’t look up.
Did Bavuma make a mistake by agreeing to play at all?
Well, no, since he didn’t make that choice. Despite his insistence of not being
“100%” fit, he would have needed to be declared match fit by the
medical staff in order to be included in the starting lineup.Furthermore,
Bavuma’s fourth-ball duck was unrelated to his hamstring in the end. He got a
good ball that nipped away and he played at it.
Although the top four didn’t succeed at the bat, the
batting as a whole did. Known for their exploits in the final ten overs,
Klaasen and Miller combined in the 12th over, when South Africa was 24 for 4,
to lead the team through nearly 20 overs of reconstruction. After an almost
forty-minute rain delay, they got back on track and decided to play within
themselves, only aiming for the boundary if they were positive they would find
it. Against Travis Head, Klaasen became disoriented, but Miller put in what could
have been the best inning of his career thus far. Miller raised his bat to his
bravest and gave South Africa a chance, even though it had been five years and
five days since he had made his last ODI century.
Then, astonishingly, it was up to an assault that had
benefited from large totals for the majority of this competition to pull it off
by using spin, a non-traditional strength. Markram and Keshav Maharaj both
claimed wickets with the opening ball on a track that changed, and a ray of
optimism appeared.
If Australia had easily defeated South Africa by five
or six wickets in 35 overs, they would have had enough mental room to sense
their own collapse. Rather, they surfaced on a wave of hope with every
opportunity.
Four catches did not go to hand in total. The first
was a short ball off Coetzee’s opening delivery. Reeza Hendricks, the
replacement fielder, was unsuccessful in holding on after Travis Head smacked
the ball at the deep point boundary. That went for fifteen. With the attack
neutralised, Coetzee was free to reflect.
Upon his comeback, he unleashed a fiery spell heavily
seasoned with short balls, almost saving South Africa from certain doom.
Although he did not end up winning the match, his two wickets made him the most
successful bowler from South Africa in a World Cup, which only served to
heighten the bittersweet taste of this tournament.
And there it ends. Not with a bang or a whimper but
with a bloody good game of cricket where so many things went right. So many,
but not enough.