By Kushan Sarkar
Kolkata, March 3
South African skipper Aiden Markram will be asked probing questions by his New Zealand counterpart Mitchell Santner in what promises to be an intriguing battle between two incredibly talented captains in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.
Not often does one find that captains of either side end up being the most prolific performers, and Markram vs Santner will be such a battle that would keep the near-capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens on the edge.
The ICC event rivalry between New Zealand and South Africa reached its peak during the 50-over World Cup semifinal in 2015 when the Black Caps edged out the Proteas in a nail-biting showdown with the likes of Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers left scarred for life.
However, South Africa, under the tutelage of Shukri Conrad, has developed into a menacing side, having already won the World Test Championship last year, showing steely resolve.
While they haven’t won a major white-ball trophy so far, the infamous chokers’ tag isn’t a part of their cricketing dictionary anymore.
At the core of this battle are the two captains, not often the most celebrated or talked about, but tactically and technically much better than all those who are feted way more.
Markram, with a strike rate of 175 plus and 268 runs, has had a devastating effect on rival bowlers during powerplay overs, while Santner, with an economy rate of 6.35, has kept the batters tied in knots.
The Proteas, with a power-hitting line-up comprising Markram, Quinton De Kock, Dewald Brevis, Ryan Rickleton, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, and Marco Jansen, can give any team sleepless nights.
But Santner will have Rachin Ravindra (9 wickets at less than 7 ER), Glenn Phillips, and Cole McConchie, who have all performed in unison.
Save for India, this is the best spin attack that the Proteas would face in the tournament, although England, with Liam Dawson and Rehan Ahmed, wasn’t bad either.
What New Zealand lacks is a quality wrist spinner to challenge South Africa, as Ish Sodhi hasn’t exactly been great in the few games that he has played so far.
On a belter of an Eden Gardens track, South Africa would like to chase against a New Zealand line-up which played its Super Eights games on the slowish Sri Lankan tracks.
The belter at Eden will allow Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips, and Daryl Mitchell to at least think of a 200-plus total that would give them a chance to contain the Proteas.
One interesting aspect would be how effective Lungi Ngidi’s slower deliveries are on this track and if his wide yorkers and slow leg cutters can keep the Black Cap batters at bay.
For New Zealand, Lockie Ferguson’s first spell could decide the fate of the clash.
In all, the first semifinal has the perfect ingredients for a thriller that will add colour to the ‘Holi-Day’.
Squads:
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (captain), Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Lockie Ferguson, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Cole McConchie, James Neesham.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (Captain), Quinton De Kock, Ryan Rickleton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Anrich Nortje, Jason Smith.
PTI
