Johannesburg – The Proteas’ debriefing following the first One-Day International (ODI) against India would have been generally positive given the result, but it was not a faultless performance, with doubts continuing over the form of captain Temba Bavuma and now, bizarrely, Tabraiz Shamsi.
The South Africa and India teams traveled to Ranchi, the hometown of Indian legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Friday for Sunday’s second ODI in the three-match series. South Africa did the bare minimum to improve their precarious position in the ICC World Super League standings by acquiring 10 points for the victory.
However, the Proteas remain a considerable distance from eighth place, which would guarantee automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in India, and with next year’s series against England – another they must win – occurring concurrently with the new SA20 tournament, a spot in the pre-qualifying competition in Zimbabwe appears inevitable.
Still, the players must avoid cliches regarding qualifying, as Heinrich Klaasen did following Thursday’s victory. “We must win nine out of nine games in order to have a chance,” he stated. “It will be very difficult to qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup. We will absolutely attempt.”
He mentioned the significance of playing for the jersey, but also presented a far more realistic assessment of the team’s goals for the upcoming weeks.
“The focus is on the next T20 World Cup, and this series is part of the preparation for that,” Klaasen stated.
In this sense, he helped his chances of making the starting lineup for that event with a well-constructed 74 not out off 65 balls, rescuing his team from a hazardous position of 110-4 to a winning total of 249-4 in a rain-shortened 40 overs per side match.
David Miller, the form player for the Proteas, contributed 75 runs unbeaten off 63 balls as part of a partnership of 139 runs. However, if, as Klaasen stated, this ODI series is part of Australia’s “building process,” then the troubles of captain Bavuma and Shamsi are cause for concern.
In four matches on the Indian tour, the Proteas captain faced 31 deliveries, scored 11 runs, and hit two fours. It is a terrible situation for him, made worse by the fact that an in-form Reeza Hendricks cannot earn a starting slot and the 50-over World Cup qualification has had to take a back seat to the SA20 competition, which he was not selected to play in.
Because he is captain, Bavuma will be given every opportunity to gain confidence, but with South Africa’s first T20 World Cup encounter less than two weeks away and only two One-Day Internationals and a few warm-up games remaining, time is running out.
Shamsi’s situation is nearly as grave. After just 18 months as the world’s top T20 bowler, the left-arm wrist spinner, currently ranked fifth in that format, was judged surplus to needs when South Africa elected to play with only one frontline spinner.
Shamsi remains a wicket-taking threat in the Twenty20 format, as evidenced by his 5-24 against England in July, but he can also be inconsistent and a target for opposing batsmen, as Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson demonstrated in Lucknow.
While no one is requesting that he abandon his aggressive approach, the Proteas cannot afford for him to get hammered for 89 runs in eight overs, as occurred in the first ODI. In addition to his wicket-taking skills, he must strive for greater consistency and command.
Sunday’s second ODI begins at 10 a.m.
Squads:
India – Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Kumar, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rahul Tripathi
Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, Andile Pheluwayo.
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