At the T20 World Cup, the Proteas have only faced their African neighbor Zimbabwe once. In the Sri Lankan jungle village of Hambantota in 2012, AB de Villiers’s team triumphed by ten wickets.
Monday’s 10am contest in Hobart is anticipated to be a considerably closer contest. Here, Zaahier Adams outlines five steps the Proteas must take to launch their T20 World Cup campaign.
Stop Sikandar Raza
The seasoned all-rounder is the Zimbabwean team’s beating heart. He plays with his heart on his sleeve and for the people of his chosen country’s homeland.
As evidenced by his 136 runs (average 45, strike rate 172) and five wickets in the qualification rounds, he enjoys carrying his team on his back. Equally, he adores the big stage and will do anything to defeat Zimbabwe’s larger southern African sibling.
Avoid complacency
Zimbabwe has a history of defeating the Proteas in World Cup competition. Remember Neil Johnson and his ragtag squad from the 1999 one-day international event.
The class of 2022 will also be formidable. This T20 World Cup has already produced a number of surprising outcomes, and the Proteas will be eager to avoid joining the list.
Consider the conditions
The Proteas are eager to play two spinners in Twenty20 cricket, especially as Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj are both potential match-winners.
Zimbabwe has demonstrated in recent encounters at Bellerive Oval what their seam attack of Blessing Muzarabani, Luke Jongwe, Richard Ngarava, and Tendai Chatara is capable of achieving in favorable conditions.
Imagine the mayhem that Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, and Marco Jansen are capable of causing.
Watch out for the net run-rate
The primary objective is, obviously, to win the game. But hopefully the Proteas would have learned from last year’s experience in the UAE, when they missed out on a semi-final berth owing to a slow chase against Bangladesh that negatively impacted their run-rate.
“Obviously, you want to perform as well as you possibly can,” said captain Temba Bavuma, “but keep an eye on your net run-rate.
“If we have a chance to win decisively, make sure we take it. We do not wish to ease ourselves into the competition. There is simply no time for it.”
Bavuma will attain some form
The draw has favored the Proteas and Bavuma in particular, with the captain having the opportunity to recover his form in the opening match.
Hopefully, hitting a few in the middle will help Bavuma get some form before facing tougher tests in the future.