Too many ruined series deciders to consider after the rain

,the captain sets sailBumping around Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday (June 19) just in time to decide the T20I, thousands of pairs of ears in packed stands were confused to the ears. “Captain Span the Sales” about a woman waiting There’s a lovely African pop song doing a man. He’s above the horizon – in some lines where the sun sets, in others where it rises. Hence the plea to set sail.

The crowd was in the dark about all that, but it didn’t need the rain and its implications for cricket were explained. It was falling enough when the first ball was about to be bowled to chase players from the field, tainting their shirts as they were running for cover.

South Africa won the toss for the fifth time in the series. For the fifth time, he had chosen to field. This time Keshav Maharaj took the team sheet in the middle. Temba Bavuma’s elbow, which he injured while diving to make his ground in Rajkot on Friday, had kept him out. Reeza Hendrix replaced Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs nodded as an extra batsman – Tabrez Shamsi led the way – and Kagiso Rabada, who missed Friday’s game with a swallow, came in for Marco Jensen. India retained the XI, which had made a comeback in the decider in a 2-0 down-level affair.

Had Lungi Ngidi not spent the entire IPL working on his fitness instead of playing a single match for Delhi Capitals, he would have reduced the loss to 20 runs in three overs in Rajkot, dismissing Ruturaj Gaikwad and Hardik Pandya. don’t – and so they probably don’t keep their place on Sundays.

But rain meant that Ngidi had to wait for the best part of an hour to reduce an innings to 19 overs. Clearly thin and with the sharp eye-spinning eye that probably comes with playing his second match in 89 days, he rebuked Ishan Kishan with the fourth ball of his first over – an effort of 140 kph Which rotated the foot down and was called wide. His next delivery was full and 18 kms slow. It caught the faltering Kishan and nailed his off-stump. On the second ball of his next over, Ngidi hits another off-cutter – which Gaikwad flicks it to mid-on. But the return of the drizzle was still evident when Ngidi lopped off for the wicket, and he bowled only one more delivery before coming back to cover again. And stay.

Thus we will never know whether South Africa will have rediscovered the calm determination that would have put them into series-claiming victories after matches in Delhi and Cuttack, or if India’s momentum was still on their way in Visakhapatnam. Burning and Rajkot in the wake of the encouraging victory.

“It would have been an exciting end to an exciting tour,” Maharaj said in his television interview. Rishabh Pant also expressed regret about what might have happened: “The way the whole team showed their character was great to watch. We are finding different ways to win, which we have never seen.” In fact, India won without the rested Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah and the injured Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar and Suryakumar Yadav.

At a press conference, Mark Boucher said that Aiden Markram’s absence due to COVID-19 had upset the visitors’ original gameplan: “We wanted to play six batsmen, with Aiden being our sixth bowling option. There was a big loss. He is in third place. In the world [as a T20I batter]So he was always going to hurt us.”

But Boucher was very satisfied with a drawn out series: “You don’t just rock up in India and expect to win.” And because: “We’ve asked a few questions on this tour, and we’ve got some great answers.” Most of it will be about South Africa’s batting, especially their tendency to score slowly in the powerplays.

They will have time to think about their journey across the Indian Ocean. The captain has spread the sails and the horizon calls. This ship is going home.