Players exchange greetings after South Africa’s win in the ODI World Cup 2023 match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on November 1, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Bat first, bat big and bat the opposition out of the game. That’s been South Africa’s success mantra in the Men’s World Cup so far. When New Zealand inserted South Africa in to bat after winning the toss, the latter was served an opportunity to repeat it at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Wednesday night.

And it did not disappoint. After Quinton de Kock’s fourth hundred of the tournament and his scintillating partnership with Rassie van der Dussen, the other centurion, helped South Africa pile on a gargantuan 357 for four, it was always going to be quite an uphill task for New Zealand.

The batting line-up that fell one six short of chasing down a target of 389 against Australia in its last outing wilted under the Proteas fire-power.

As a result, well before Glenn Phillips’ counter-attack was over to signal the end of the Kiwi innings for 167, more than half of the 31,940 spectators that had flocked to the stadium had started their arduous journey back to the city.

While Keshav Maharaj took four wickets after the pace pack had taken the fizz out of the chase, the game was set up by de Kock and van der Dussen’s second 200-run partnership of the tournament.

Captain Temba Bavuma was uncharacteristically aggressive — his six off Matt Henry over extra-cover being the standout stroke of the day.

But once he miscued a drive off Trent Boult in the ninth over, van der Dussen joined de Kock at the crease.

For the next 144 minutes, the de Kock and van der Dussen show thrilled the gallery. The duo took its time to get going. At 94 for one in 20 overs, left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra was welcomed with a huge six in his first over as the next 10-over passage saw the duo add 61 runs.

When de Kock cut a wider slower delivery straight to point off Southee off the last ball of the 40th over, the launchpad had been set for South Africa to finish the innings with a flurry.

David Miller, promoted ahead of Heinrich Klaasen to target the left-arm spin, did not disappoint as South Africa plundered 119 runs in the last 10 overs. The onslaught nearly put the chase out of New Zealand’s reach.

Once the pacers had reduced the Kiwis to 56 for three in the 11th over, the game was all but sealed for Maharaj to finish it off in a hurry.

David Warner plays a shot during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match between Australia and New Zealand at the HPCA Ground in Dharamshala on October 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Australia opener David Warner says his ODI World Cup 2023 form is making doubters “look stupid” and hopes to add to his mountain of runs in the next match against ailing England.

Warner, who has scored two centuries in his past three matches, is second on the runs list at the tournament with 413 at an average of 68.83, behind Quinton de Kock (431).

“Everyone keeps writing me off,” said lefthander Warner who turned 37 last week.

“I’m doing as well as I can, I’m just trying to go out there and start as well as I can up front in the first 10 (overs).

“If I get in, I try and make the most of it.

“It’s also awesome to have Heady (Travis Head) and Mitch (Marsh) there as well, because it allows that pressure to keep being put back onto the opposition.”

Asked if he was motivated to prove doubters wrong, Warner said: “Nup. I just make everyone look stupid.”

Warner put on an opening stand of 175 against New Zealand with Head, who slotted back into the side after recovering from a broken hand.

Warner said team mates had nicknamed Head ‘Chaos’ for looking to attack bowlers at every chance.

“It seems to be hitting the middle all the time, and that’s the way he plays, and that’s good, because at the other end, it (puts) a bit of pressure on the bowlers, and then I can get some bad balls as well.

“We are gelling really well together.”

Resurgent Australia are fourth in the standings, having won their last four matches in succession.

The top four at the end of the round robin phase reach the semi-finals.

Defending champions England are bottom of the 10 teams and all but eliminated from the tournament after losing their fifth match to hosts India.

Warner said “it would be nice” to add to England’s misery but said Australia should not underestimate them.

“They’re the teams that are the most dangerous when there’s nothing to lose,” he said.

Afghanistan player Rahmanullah Gurbaz and coach Jonathan Trott during a practice session an ODI World Cup 2023 match.
| Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

Afghanistan may have defeated three former World Cup champions so far in the tournament. It may have had its best World Cup outing already. While taking pride in his unit’s achievement, head coach Jonathan Trott has already set an in-form batting group its next target, of scoring a hundred.

“Nobody has got a hundred so far yet, so that’s the next challenge. Someone accepts responsibility and batting for a longer period of time and make sure we get a hundred,” Trott said after Afghanistan thumped Sri Lanka by seven wickets on Monday.

“You see, a lot of hundreds are scored in the tournament. That’s the next frontier, the next barrier. Gurbaz has scored a few hundreds recently, you know Ibrahim has. The middle order is in form, 3-4-5-6, as well. That’s the next challenge and I have got no doubt that the players will be able to in the future. Hopefully it starts with the next game.”

For the second time in succession, Afghanistan’s batters timed the chase to perfection. Trott revealed that breaking down the target on a whiteboard in the dug-out is being employed to ease out the pressure of a chase.

There is a bit more focus with regards to breaking it down into smaller targets, for sometimes you know sitting out in Pakistan getting chasing 280 and starting on nought, it’s a long way,” Trott said.

“If you break it down, that seems a lot more manageable, so those sort of little things, motivating the players and keeping them in touch with where we want to be. And that’s also a feel-good fact, if you know you are on the right track, it’s also a nice feeling as well.”

Unbounded joy: Afghanistan fans celebrating their side’s victory against Sri Lanka. 
| Photo Credit: VEDHAN M

As Afghanistan outmuscled Sri Lanka to a convincing seven-wicket win in the ODI World Cup at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Monday, a smattering of Afghan fans in the stands were dancing in joy. To be fair, they have been on it for a while.

Comprising mostly of Pune-based students, these fans were relishing yet another praise-worthy performance from their side as it put itself in the fray for a semifinal finish.

Clad in their native flags, the Afghan fans were egged on by a well-prepared stadium DJ, who whipped out Afghani songs frequently.

Nostalgia

“These are songs from our childhood. It reminds us of our homeland. How can we not dance to it,” said Iqbal, an Afghan student from Pune University.

The exuberance of the Afghan fans soon rubbed onto the local crowd, who slowly began to align themselves with Hashmatullah Shahidi’s side and celebrated its exploits as if it was their own team.

After a tough initiation into World Cup cricket – it won only one game in the 2015 and 2019 editions combined – Afghanistan has come alive this time, securing historic wins over defending champion England and Pakistan, before its Lankan conquest.

For most of the Afghan fans, this was the first opportunity to see their beloved team in flesh and blood and the timing couldn’t have been better.

Belief

“We are really happy with the side’s performance. We believe we are going to the semifinal. Our bowlers are amazing and our batting is also not bad. We have a good chance,” said Iqbal.

“Almost all of us used to play cricket in Afghanistan. Here also we play with our friends. It is one of the few things which helps us stay connected to our home,” added Iqbal.

A few Afghan fans also drew the attention of the crowd due to their dapper appearance. Hasan Anwari, another Pune University student, was constantly fielding selfie requests from Indian fans.

“The love that the Afghanistan team and fans have received from India during the World Cup is incredible. It makes us feel more at home here,” said Hasan.

Virat Kohli celebrates after winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against England at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on October 29, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India surpassed New Zealand (58) with its 59th win to become the second-most successful team in the ODI World Cups, only behind Australia (73 wins).

England equalled Australia (from 1992) for the most defeats by a defending champion in a World Cup edition with its fourth loss in six games.

Virat Kohli (32nd innings), Joe Root (22nd innings) and Ben Stokes (14th innings) recorded their first World Cup ducks in the match. Kohli and Root marked the first instance of both no. 3 batters being dismissed for nought in a World Cup game.

Rohit Sharma’s 66-ball fifty is his slowest since December 2019. He has struck 14 fifty-plus scores since then.

Rohit is now joint-second on the list for most ODI World Cup fifty-plus scores – 12. Sachin Tendulkar leads with 21 such scores.

Kohli also equalled Tendulkar (34) for most ducks while batting in the top seven in international cricket.

Rohit Sharma became the fifth Indian to complete 18000 international runs behind Tendulkar, Kohli, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

Rohit Sharma completed 1000 ODI runs in 2023, the third player to reach the mark behind Shubman Gill and Pathum Nissanka.

India reached its fifty in 14.2 overs, the slowest among all teams batting first in this World Cup.

Value addition: Vice-captain O’Dowd and skipper Edwards will be pleased with the utility of the former’s pocket notes.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The Netherlands has demanded attention at the cricket World Cup. After stunning South Africa to register one of the World Cup’s biggest upsets of all time, the Men in Orange, ranked lowest among the 10 teams, defeated Bangladesh on Saturday.

The sheet of paper that vice-captain Max O’Dowd often takes out of his pocket when they field has attracted a fair bit of attention too. So what is the story behind it?

‘Best wicketkeeper’

Captain Scott Edwards, who, according to veteran India gloveman Dinesh Karthik, has been the best wicketkeeper at the World Cup, was asked that question by The Hindu. “But I don’t have the greatest memory, so I don’t know how it all began,” he said. “I do a lot of the analysis work with [coach] Ryan [Cook] before the games and he is very good at it.”

Story behind it

O’Dowd had a more detailed answer. “It began with a lot of the analysis work that we do and work on bowlers and batters,” he said. “No, we haven’t done it in notes before the World Cup, but it has been dramatised a little bit, because now every time I have notes in my pocket the camera zooms in on me. We do a lot of work on batters and we have match-ups written down that we think will work against certain batters.”

It worked particularly well in the Netherlands’ win against South Africa at Dharamshala. Remember the dismissal of Rassie van der Dussen, for instance?

“Well, we knew Rassie would try and reverse sweep, and it’s one of his strengths,” the opener said. “But we didn’t think the plan would come off so fast. The notes are just there for us to kind of guide us.”

So how did the notes find their way into his pocket and not anybody else’s?

The messenger

“Well, somebody said the paper with the notes and I said that I would put it in my pocket,” O’Dowd smiled. “It makes sense too, since I am always inside the ring. I just became the messenger.”

Different script: Rahul will step onto the Lucknow turf, hoping to exorcise the ghosts of the past.
| Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR

Returning to the Ekana Stadium, K.L. Rahul must have felt a gamut of emotions sweeping through him. Leading Lucknow Super Giants in an IPL fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore here on May 1, this year, the batter suffered an injury, a torn tendon in his right leg while fielding.

Subsequently he underwent surgery in England, took a break to recuperate before winging his way back to the Indian squad. On Sunday, he will step onto this turf, hoping to exorcise the ghosts of the past.

“The last memory of this ground is about me falling down and injuring myself. Hopefully I can put that aside and make some better and happier memories,” Rahul told the media here on Saturday.

Dangerous team

Speaking about England, Sunday’s opponent in the World Cup, Rahul said: “It is important that we keep doing what we have been doing and focus on our strengths. England is the defending champion. They may not have had a few results going their way but they are still a very dangerous team.”

Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have scored a bulk of India’s runs and Rahul reacted: “It is a good thing when your senior players are in form. That is what you expect from Rohit and Virat. Whoever has got the opportunity, they too have contributed and every player has a different role.”

Rahul spoke about working on the mental aspects besides enhancing his wicketkeeping skills. “Outside noise did affect me and I worked at addressing it. I have got a lot more thick-skinned.

“The medical team at the NCA felt that with the kind of injury I had, the difficult part would be wicketkeeping. So I worked harder on my fitness and wicketkeeping,” Rahul said and added that the Indian team is better prepared for this World Cup.

Unfazed: Latham & Co. will believe they have the resources to deal with the upbeat Aussies.
| Photo Credit: MOORTHY RV

Australia is one of the best cricket teams for some reasons. Being the most successful team with five titles in the World Cup is just one of them.

Being persistent, competent and consistent are some more reasons. But, its resilient character stood out after the Aussies spent a night in the cellar of the points table and won thrice on the bounce.

On Saturday, Australia faces off with its trans-Tasman rival New Zealand at this picturesque setting of the HPCA Ground at the foothills of the Dhauladhar mountain ranges.

Crucial stage

These teams — softened up by India — clash at a crucial stage of the league. New Zealand remained among the top-four teams despite losing to India here while Australia made the grade after its resounding 309-run victory over the Netherlands earlier this week.

A second straight defeat could bring pressure on the Kiwis for the first time while another reverse will make Australia desperate. Since each team is eyeing at least six wins in the league to be almost sure of making the semifinals, the victorious team will move closer to qualification.

No doubt, the momentum is firmly with Australia. Riding on victories against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Netherlands, Australia has ticked most boxes.

David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell are back in form and that should worry the Kiwis.

The pace trio of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood is slowly getting into the act, while Adam Zampa will be looking for a fourth four-wicket haul on the trot.

The Kiwis, despite the setback against India here, are not worried. The side has the resources to deal with the Australians in all departments.

Notwithstanding the injury to Ken Williamson, New Zealand carries the belief of upstaging Australia.

With the game scheduled to start at 10.30 a.m., the toss and the dew factor may not influence the result. That said, both teams are armed with good pacers.

Therefore, opting to field in the slightly nippy conditions in the early part of the first session appears a good option.

South Africa will look to carry the momentum gained over the last few days here as they head to Chennai for their next World Cup assignment against Pakistan, says batting coach and former player J.P. Duminy.
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

South Africa will look to carry the momentum gained over the last few days here as they head to Chennai for their next World Cup assignment against Pakistan, says batting coach and former player J.P. Duminy.

South Africa trounced reigning champions England and Bangladesh posting successive 350-plus totals to bounce back strongly after being upset by the Netherlands in Dharamsala.

“We are certainly going to take confidence out of it,” Duminy told reporters after their 149-run win over Bangladesh here on October 24.

“We have been speaking about ‘momentum creates confidence’, you think about back-to-back wins and I guess the way we have played in the last two games, we will certainly take a lot of confidence out of it,” he said.

Boasting a better net run-rate than India, South Africa will now be eyeing to go to the top of the table, upstaging the hosts when they face Pakistan on October 27.

“Getting into a big match against Pakistan, we certainly want to enjoy the victory and soak up what we really did well. There are areas where we can improve, there are always areas that you can focus on and see how we can get better at. The next game against Pakistan is obviously a crucial one for us,” Duminy added.

A big question, however, remains on South Africa’s ability to handle pressure while chasing as they have recorded each of their win batting first and piling up big scores.

Duminy believes that his side would be ready as their mantra is to read the conditions well.

“For us, it is (about) what is in front of us, which is, the conditions. What are the conditions saying in terms of giving us the best chance to win a game?” he said.

“At the end of the day, the toss is a 50-50 call. I think for us, it is just wrapping our heads around the fact that if we are in a position where we need to chase, I think we are ready for it.” “We had a small blip in the Netherlands game, but I think the confidence is there, the more we are conversing around it, the more we understand that even in the Netherlands game, there are certain things that… There are great learnings, understanding those one percent factors that give us the edge,” he said.

Duminy dismissed the notion that South Africa’s bowling lineup lacks experience citing the presence of Kagiso Rabada.

South Africa were made to work hard at least by Bangladesh who batted for 46.4 overs to make 233 in reply to a huge 382/5. The task, however, was simpler for South Africa against the defending champions England who rolled over in just 22 overs.

“What I am excited about is the learning opportunities that we have,” Duminy said.

“As much as we talk about inexperience, Rabada has been around for a period of time and he brings that experience. And he has certainly shown that in this World Cup the aggression and accuracy that he has shown, which has been outstanding,” he said.

“The guys have backed him up, seeing a Marco Jansen as young as he is, having the control that he has been exciting. Swinging the ball as he does with the new ball, those are all elements and attributes that we are pretty excited by. As we get to the backend of the tournament, the pressure is going to heighten for us,” Duminy added.

“De Kock is ‘hungry’ for runs”

Quinton de Kock has three centuries already in five matches of the World Cup but coach Duminy takes pride in saying that the wicketkeeper-batter, who will retire from ODIs after the competition, has the hunger to make big runs for the team.

“I think it is just a hunger that he has shown. Obviously (after) announcing that he’ll be retiring after the World Cup, the hunger and desire that he has to really put in strong performances for the team,” Duminy said.

“It is easy to score 100 and then sort of take a backseat but every single day that he comes to training, and the games that he has played so far, scoring three hundreds in five innings is a pretty special effort, and knowing the character that he is, he certainly not going to rest on that he has got a great ambitions to go all the way and be a real star performer for his team,” he added.

File photo of South Africa batsman Heinrich Klaasen.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

It may sound odd but arguably the best batter of spin bowling in limited overs’ cricket is a South African. It is not at all odd that he is equally indomitable against pace bowlers.

No wonder then that Heinrich Klaasen is one of the most fearsome batters in world cricket, at least in 50-over-a-side format, at the moment.

Klaasen has continued his classy batting and silken touch in the Men’s ODI World Cup. His back-to-back knocks at the Wankhede Stadium, including Tuesday’s 49-ball 93, have underlined his prowess in the format.

Having joined Quinton de Kock at the crease towards the end of the 30th over, Klaasen knew that neither would face too much of spin nor was he in danger of running out steam on yet another hot and humid day, as he did three days ago.

Still, he made the most of the nine balls he got from the spinners, tonking 20 runs. But once Bangladesh employed an all-pace strategy and the pace trio misfired as much as their England counterparts, Klaasen was up to it. Before miscuing one in the last over, he had thumped 73 runs off his 40 balls.

As if taking aking Mustafizur Rahman to cleaners in the 47th over wasn’t good enough with a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 2 off the last four balls wasn’t enough, Klaasen was even more severe off Shoriful Islam – the other left-arm pacer – who replaced him for the next over from the same end.

The five balls he faced off Shoriful in the 49th over fetched him 18 runs, thus giving South Africa an outside chance of crossing the 400-run mark.

Klaasen’s carnage of pace attack on the red-soil pitches at the Wankhede Stadium over the last three days has been the same despite opponents. On surfaces where the ball bounces and carries to the Proteas’ liking, Klassen has been at his best.

Even on Saturday, he was brutal against England pacers as compared to its spinners. While he scored a whopping 94 runs off the 48 balls he faced from an off-radar England pace pack, he tallied just 23 runs off 18 balls against spin.

If Quinton de Kock has been setting the foundation, Klaasen has been taking the game away from the opposition virtually every time South Africa bats first. If he can do the same while chasing, the opposition attacks will be dreading even more while bowling to him.