There wasn’t much between the Proteas and Pakistan in their first T20I in Lahore yesterday as the hosts were just that little more consistent to win by just three runs.
Now is the perfect time to reflect on some of the defining moments in the game.
Mid-innings stall may have cost the Proteas
South Africa got off to a solid start, thanks largely to the blitz from Janneman Malan, who scored a 29-ball 44, including eight 4s and one 6.
However, after Malan was clean bowled in the 7th over by Usman Qadir, the Proteas lost much momentum and tended to lag drastically in terms of their run-rate.
The Proteas comparable run-rate was higher than Pakistan until the 7th over, which is when it started its steady decline.
Jacques Snyman’s wicket (2) followed soon after, before Reeza Hendricks and David Miller were left to salvage the side’s dwindling run-rate.
The two struggled to gain any ascendency until Miller (6) was caught behind in the 12th over, as the Proteas were pretty much staring down the barrel of the gun at that point.
By the end of the 12th over, Pakistan were on 99, compared to SA’s 83 – a run-rate of 8.25 over the visitors’ rate of 6.92. That is defining is a low-overs game.
Granted, the Pakistanis bowled superbly with the ball at times, but when momentum is lost in a T20 game, it is often too difficult to rescue the situation.
But, with the Proteas losing by just three runs at the end and requiring a six off the last ball, that mid-innings stall may very well have cost them – and Captain Heinrich Klaasen admitted it afterwards.
Pakistani spinners got under SA’s skins
There was much optimistic talk from SA before the second innings that the Pakistani spinners wouldn’t get much turn in their deliveries because of the evening dew settling on the wicket as the game headed into the night.
However, that wasn’t a factor as spinners Qadir and Mohammad Nawaz were mostly the sole cause for SA’s dragging momentum and aforementioned mid-innings stall.
Qadir clean bowled both Malan and Snyman and although Nawaz didn’t take any wickets, he contributed sternly to suppressing SA’s run-rate.
The duo were tied in having the best economy-rates in the innings of 5.25 as the Proteas couldn’t find any answers to build much-needed momentum off their turning deliveries.
Pakistan brought them into the attack at the ideal time of the innings and it may have been the reason for them defending their reachable target.
Reeza Hendricks playing too individualistically
There’s no denying that Hendricks put up a good knock and fight for his hard-earned 42-ball 54, but at times he played a bit too conservatively.
T20s are usually hit-and-miss affairs and opportunities are very limited, which is why the team’s objectives need to be kept starkly in mind.
When the Proteas were just three wickets down past the halfway mark – and after suffering a run-rate slump – they had the right to hit out in order to close in on the target quicker.
However, it seemed as though Hendricks was too often playing for his own personal gains, rather than adhering to the team’s needs. He scored 22 singles and was on the receiving end of many dot balls.
The 31-year-old batted well, but failed to help the team gain any impetus in reaching their target. Whether he got his half-century was despite the fact that Proteas failed in their quest.
His ‘safe batting’ held its own, until he was confusedly run-out in the 18th over, therefore his exploits lasted for most of the innings.
Hendricks’s contribution would’ve been in much better vain in an ODI or Test match, but unfortunately didn’t get the acclaimed praise in this game.
