image source– proteasmencsa
The Champions Trophy has perhaps been a tournament where teams have travelled more than they have played courtesy the India leg only being held in Dubai and not Pakistan, who are the hosts of the tournament.
Ask the likes of South Africa and Australia and they will whole heartedly agree with both making the trip to Dubai,with one of them scheduled to play India in the semifinals and the other making the trip back in a matter of a day.
Well, Australia remained in the Emirates for their semifinal clash with India, while the Proteas returned back to Lahore—having initially arrived in the UAE as mere tourists, only to discover that cricket had eluded them much like intellect does for most uncivilized beings.
Perhaps such are the vagaries of cricket in these rather uncanny times and South Africa just need to take this in their stride and now look towards surmounting the New Zealand challenge, a team which has undoubtedly looked one of the most determined in this mini–World Cup.
Yes, the BlackCaps have been rather consistent in their recent form overcoming Pakistan and South Africa in the tri-series just preluding the Champions Trophy and then convincingly beating Bangladesh and Pakistan in the group games, only to faulter to India by the slimmest of margins.
The Proteas on the other hand have been no muck either, with an emphatic showing against both Afghanistan and England to ascend to their third successive knockout match in an ICC tournament.
Yes, South Africa having been the semi-finalists in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the finalist in the 2024 T20 World Cup,have once again made the top four in this year’s Champions Trophy. This after being rather paltry in most of the bilateral series in between to say the least, making this feat even more praise-worthy.
So, as we look to this much anticipated semifinal which for some die-hard Protea faithful serves as the revenge match to the ill-fated 2015 occasion, lets delve into some key battles:
BlackCaps’ Consistent Batting vs South Africa’s Reinvigorated Bowling Form
The Kiwis have been one of the most consistent batting units in this tournament mounting a famous 320 batting first against Pakistan in their opening game and followed that up with chasing 236 odd posted by Bangladesh with 5 wickets to spare.
The likes of Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham and others have been determined to make their bat talk which truth be told is paying dividends as the tournament enters its business end.
Having said this, South Africa who were rather woeful with their bowling before the Champions Trophy commenced, having conceded 350+ runs to Pakistan in one of the lead up games have definitely found their form again when it mattered.
Yes, with the addition of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen, the Proteas have been instrumental in dismissing the opposition for meekly scores with Afghanistan falling for all of 208 chasing South Africa’s 315 and the mighty English getting skittled for just 179 batting first in their recent outing. This highlights the challenges these teams have encountered against Jansen’s high release and Rabada’s pinpoint accuracy.
With the Protea stars coming to the party thanks to peaking with their bowling at the right time and the BlackCaps determined to make the runs, this battle will definitely ensue to be worthy of eyeballs aplenty.
Proteas Famed Middle Order vs Mitch Santner and Matt Henry
When the roles are reversed the battle still is equally exciting!
Yes, this is precisely what one would experience when the famed middle order of South Africa boasting the likes of Rassie, Markram, Miller and Klaasen who perhaps is in the form of his life having scored five half-centuries in his last five innings mounting a total 415 runs locks horns against Mitch Santner and Matt Henry who possibly are not only the best white ball bowlers in the Kiwi ranks but also in world cricket.
This too in good measure as Henry leads the bowling charts in the tournament with eight scalps to his name and captain Santner being the yardstick for left arm slow bowling in the international game as things stand.
So, with lots to look forward to as these two southern hemisphere giants lock horns in Lahore on Wednesday, one would expect nothing short of a scintillating affair.
That said, any devoted Proteas supporter would undoubtedly hope that the answer to this article’s title comes to fruition, as South Africa seeks to avenge the painful memories of the 2015 semifinal—wounds that still haunt Mzansi even more than the current state of the economy.
Perhaps I do too, an ardent supporter of Proteas cricket.
