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You know those awesome rocket launch sequences where amid various shots of the vehicle looking all epic and the crew looking all steely there's a disembodied voice that goes "T-minus..." Picture that... except instead of the wonders of space exploration, we're talking about a bunch of people doing a bunch of things to get their hands on a cup that doesn't even look like a cup... which they'll only be able to hold onto for like a year. Two tops.
It's time for the T20 World Cup countdown, baby!
India and South Africa are at T-minus three matches to the big party down under. So a lot of the focus will be on things like, is our death bowling doing alright? Oh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's not? But didn't he - it sounds preposterous to even say it out loud but didn't he - bowl a wicket maiden in the 19th over to stop Mumbai Indians from winning a game where they only needed 19 more runs? At least he's off resting now, away from all the noise.
And, what about the batting? Of course that's doing fine. Anyone can wave a piece of wood around, can't they? Plus there's the AB de Villiersisation of it all. Twenty-two year old kids think they can now walk into the park and hit every ball for six. Thirty-two year old veterans, brought up in the mean streets maidans of Mumbai, no longer care about showing that straight bat. They be scoopin', rampin' and ballin'.
That said, three matches, this late, aren't going to offer a whole lot of clarity on what to do and what not to. The good only reinforces what they already know and the bad, well, that gets thrown in the bin because there's no time for that. So in a way, this series could be a bit of a free hit for both India and South Africa. One last chance to go out and have utter, almost no-consequence fun.
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/south-africa-in-india-2022-23-1327499/india-vs-south-africa-1st-t20i-1327506/match-preview
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