The Kangaroos have qualified for their 8th ODI World Cup final after registering a close win over South Africa in a thrilling contest. In the second semi-final at the iconic Eden Gardens, Australia defeated South Africa by 3 wickets. Now they will face India in the final of the World Cup, and they will be desperate to lift their 6th ODI World Cup title. There are various talking points from the clash between Australia and South Africa, but let’s take a look at the top 3 of them.
Another failure from Bavuma
South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma once again failed to contribute with runs, this time in their biggest test of the tournament so far. Bavuma once again got out early as he was dismissed by Mitchell Starc. South Africa has been too reliant on Quinton De Kock and there’s been very little contribution from the skipper.
In the semi-final, De Kock could not continue his form and succumbed to the pressure created by the Australian fast bowlers in the initial overs. South Africa had to bear the loss as they could not post a challenging target on the board.
Australia’s over-reliance on David Warner
David Warner has been in sublime form throughout the tournament, and he has been giving a solid start to the Australian team consistently. Ironically, this has become one of the loopholes for Australia that they need to plug in the finals. Whenever David Warner has been dismissed early the Australian team has failed to put up big totals or chase the same.
This happened in the semi-final as well. The Aussies struggled to chase a low target of 213 runs, though the pitch was not as easy to bat on. Australia will have to address this issue in the final, as they cannot afford to be clueless if David Warner fails to score.
Spinners: Too Little, Too Late
The South African spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj bowled exceptionally well in the semi-final against Australia. South African batters could not put up a big total on the board, but the spin duo of Shamsi and Maharaj made it really tough for Australia to get to the finishing line.
But the Proteas captain brought the spinners into the attack pretty late in the innings and by the time the spinners started operating, Australia already had more than 100 runs on the board. Had the spinners been brought a little early into the play the result could have been different for South Africa.