Match report - SA vs Afg
South Africa books a spot in the final
This report was written by an individual in desperate need of sleep. Enjoy the ramblings of a half-asleep writer.
Reeza Hendricks has never been one to miss out on getting maximum rewards on a free hit, and he treated Azmatullah Omarzai’s attempt at an aggressive short ball in an expected manner. Hendricks rose to his toes, got on top of the ball and hooked it away over square leg for six. That was the first maximum of the game, and it brought South Africa to the doorstep of victory. They now needed one run to win, with nine wickets in hand.
Omarzai’s next delivery was full and outside the off-stump, Hendricks showed the full face of the bat and punched the ball down the ground for the winning runs. The Proteas had made history, breaking a 24-year-old barrier at ICC tournaments.
Hendricks fell in love first time and suffered his first heartbreak in the same year. In 1999, he was 10 years old, and watching Lance Klusener scythe bowling attacks as he led South Africa to a semi-final showdown against Australia made him want to pursue cricket as a career. The Proteas’ run-out loss to the Australians hurt him deeply. But, the pain was not enough to turn him away from the sport.
His one dream, as he made his way through age-group cricket was to not only play for South Africa but to play a role in helping them take that one step past the semi-final stage. In 2019, he was left inconsolable after he was snubbed for the ODI World Cup. He felt he had done enough to earn a spot in the side. In 2021, he had watched the T20 World Cup from the dugout despite being one of the better batters in the side. The same happened in 2022, and he was accorded two opportunities at the 2023 ODI World Cup.
When he was finally one of the leading men, after years of being an extra, he was confronted by unplayable New York surfaces and difficult West Indian pitches. But Rob Walter knew his value and refused to give up on him, declaring that Hendricks’ best runs at the T20 World Cup were ahead of him. Match-defining runs. The 34-year-old took the first step to fulfilling that prophecy with a classy unbeaten 29 off 25 to lead South Africa to a nine-wicket victory.
Hendricks’ performance owed a lot to the outstanding performance of the bowlers, led by Marco Jansen. The young man banished demons from the ODI World Cup, where he just seemed to unravel after a great tournament. He had a bad outing against India ahead of their semi-final against Australia and things just went pear-shaped from then on.
Jansen found his groove at the T20 World Cup, in part thanks to the helpful pitches and one of the other parts being the work he has been doing. For instance, when he got a moment with Mitchell Starc, a fellow new ball left-arm seamer, he picked the Australian’s brains. “I asked him how he swings the ball and he gave me answers that helped me a lot. We are a little similar but also different. He gets pace off the wicket and I get a little bit more bounce. So, I took what applied to me from his answers and used that,” he said.
The 24-year-old is constantly trying to get new ball wickets and has managed to do so most of the time at the T20 World Cup. “I know if I can get it to swing I can make inroads. It’s just about getting it in the right areas,” he shared.
It took him five deliveries to get his range and get South Africa their first wicket. “At first, I was just happy to get an early wicket, then I got my second. When I got my third wicket in my third over, we knew what the wicket was all about and how we were supposed to go about things,” he explained.
Jansen’s three wickets in three overs, and Kagiso Rabada’s double-wicket maiden were all South Africa needed to pin Afghanistan’s backs against the wall. Afghanistan did not recover from that blowout. The entire contest lasted a total of 20.4 overs. Afghanistan’s innings of 56 runs dragged on for 11.5 overs. South Africa needed only 8.5 overs to chase down that score and make history. This team is the first South African men’s team to reach a World Cup final.
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Thanks for reading. Until next time… - CS