Faf du Plessis, a former captain of South Africa, has offered explanations for the team’s loss to Australia in the current ODI World Cup quarterfinal. On November 16, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, South Africa lost three wickets to the Pat Cummins-led team, so being eliminated from the tournament. In the second semi-final, Australia successfully chased down a meager goal of 213 runs in 47.2 overs, making it an intense, low-scoring thriller.
The unanticipated swing of the ball in Eden Gardens, according to Du Plessis, was a major factor in the team’s success. The 39-year-old emphasized that the pitch was difficult, especially in the early going of the game, because of the considerable ball swing. He said that the five-time champions played their approach almost like Test cricket and praised the quality of the Australian fast bowlers.
“You have to consider the first hour’s weather, which was quite dismal and cloudy. Given that the pitch was so dry, I believe everyone expected it to play really well. The amount of swing that was present in the first hour of play in the air and on the field caught a lot of us off guard. Because of this, the surface was quite difficult at first, but Faf du Plessis on Star Sports observed, “You have to give credit to the Australia fast bowlers.”
“Australia made it look almost like Test cricket; they did not miss a beat and really broke the back of the South African side,” he stated.
Du Plessis also mentioned how South Africa had to bat catch-up for the duration of the match in order to score 212. He praised David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen for their hard work on the difficult field. After the other batters failed to live up to expectations, Klaasen played a crucial 47-run innings. Miller also contributed with a century, scoring 101.
“Credit to Klaasen and Miller to get us back into the game, but they were probably 20 runs short on a pitch like that,” Du Plessis said.V.
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