Old problems resurface for South Africa in World Cup semi  

Rex Clementine in Calcutta  

For such a strong cricketing nation, it’s strange that South Africa have never reached the finals of the World Cup. They have found some strange ways to lose semi-finals or knockout games for that matter in sport’s showpiece event.

Something similar was in the cards in Calcutta yesterday as the Proteas won the toss and elected to bat first in overcast conditions and their top order was blown away by the Australian quicks.

Mitchell Starc bowled unchanged for seven overs while Josh Hazlewood sent down six overs straight reducing South Africa to 24 for four and they were playing catch up from that point on.

In this tournament, Eden Gardens has offered assistance for spin as the game progresses, and it may well be the right decision to bat first but with overcast conditions against a formidable attack it looked a gamble. Not many could blame South Africa though as Pat Cummins too admitted that he would have batted first had he won the toss.

Heinrich Klassen together with David Miller provided some stability adding 95 runs for the fifth wicket but South Africa were long way off a safe total.  Pace had done enough damage but the spin of Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell weren’t able to trouble the South Africans and Pat Cummins called up his third spin option – Travis Head.

The ploy worked as Head took two wickets in two balls in his first over to put Australia back in the hunt. South Africa owed their eventual total of 212 all out to David Miller, who put up a tremendous show.

Millier, a globetrotting T-20 specialist, is kind of expected to be the finisher of the innings coming in with ten overs to go. But here, at the biggest game of his career, walking in to bat at the 12th over, he played to the situation. This was a tall order and he accomplished it so well giving South African bowlers something to defend.

Usually, Miller produces less than a run a ball thrillers, but here he took calculated risks and finished on 101 off 116 deliveries.  Not that he didn’t punish the loose balls. There were eight fours and five sixes in his innings and he was dismissed attempting the sixth six. The 73 run stand between Miller and Gerald Coetzee ensured that the innings lasted till the 50th over but the Proteas could regret their top order collapse.