At the end of one of the greatest One Day International matches ever played, South Africa were left with that empty feeling once again.
– New Zealand beat South Africa in thriller to reach final
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There was disappointment, frustration, heartbreak and plenty of tears. Another great Proteas side is going back home from the World Cup with unfulfilled promises.
But this wasn’t a case of South Africa choking. Instead, it was a triumph for the team that was more desperate and slightly more lucky.
New Zealand went into the match as equals, and came out with something that the Proteas have never managed – a place in the final of the most prestigious cricket tournament in the world.
McCullum has scored 278 of his 328 runs in this WC in boundaries (44 x 4, 17 x 6). This is 84.75% of his runs. pic.twitter.com/XO8Gdu4qsS
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) March 24, 2015
There is no denying that the rain that came down at the end of the 38th over of the South African innings, played a crucial role in what transpired next. When later asked what was going through his mind when AB de Villiers was going hammer and tongs at his bowlers and the rain started to fall, I don’t think Brendon McCullum was joking when he said ‘Just keep raining’.
Even though David Miller played an explosive innings on resumption, there was a distinct feeling that South Africa had lost ground from where they were with Faf du Plessis and de Villiers putting together a breath-taking partnership when rain intervened.
Had they continued and played the full 50 overs, conventional wisdom suggests they would have set a target of 330 odd runs. And anything over 300, even if scored in 50 overs, is a psychological challenge for the opposition.
New Zealand benefited from various after-effects of the rain. The ball, and the fielders, started skidding in the outfield, which made fielding a lot more difficult. The ball was getting wet, and becoming more difficult to grip. But more importantly, New Zealand did not have to get their complete quota of 10 overs from a fifth bowler.
Nothing can be taken away from the grit shown by the Kiwis. Grant Elliott may have emerged as the hero but the influence of captain McCullum on this team cannot be overstated.
Because of the new playing conditions that are being used for this tournament, most experts of the game have been harping on about teams needing to play with a positive mind-set to restrict their opposition to chasable targets. Under McCullum, New Zealand are not just positive, they are downright aggressive.
McCullum’s thinking was most evident when he put in four slips and a gully after South Africa’s second wicket fell. And then, with de Villiers batting, he took out the long off and instead attacked some more with a short cover and a silly mid-on.
The other thing about McCullum’s captaincy, as former England star Kevin Pietersen put it, is that he “has the team in his pocket”. The inclusion of the South Africa-born Elliott in the team, at the age of 36, as well as that of Daniel Vettori, also 36, has supposedly been done at the insistence of McCullum.
Apart from these two, most players have been around the Kiwi captain from the moment he started re-building the team after they were embarrassingly bowled out for 45 in the Cape Town Test match in 2013 against South Africa.
New Zealand are now one step away from the realizing their dream. They will meet either Australia or India on Sunday but with Captain Fantastic guiding them, they know they are in safe hands.
