South Africa settles with a point against Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe got out of jail in their clash against South Africa at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart after rain forced a point to be shared between the African sides. Zimbabwe were restricted to a par total of 80 runs in their nine overs in a rain-curtailed affair, and with the Proteas just inches away from victory, the rain had the final say in the match.
South Africa were off to a rollicking start in the rain-curtailed affair thanks to Quinton de Kock’s belligerent first over, which yielded 23 runs, the most in the first over of a T20 World Cup match ever. The southpaw’s hurriedness was induced by the rain lurking around at the venue.
And the rain did arrive during the second over of the Protean innings, resulting in the innings being shortened to just seven overs with the revised target of 64 runs. South Africa’s explosive southpaw continued on his merry way after the brief halt.
But just as when South Africa looked like running away with the game after scoring 51 runs in the first three overs, rain interrupted again, with the Proteas needing just 13 runs in the final 12 deliveries. The Zimbabwe skipper was pleading with the umpires to call a halt to the proceedings as the slippery conditions in the outfield was threatening injuries to his players.
Ervine’s plea was heard by the umpires in the middle as the rain started pelting and the game was called off with the sides sharing a point each. Quinton de Kock’s 47 off 18 deliveries went in vain as the rain was once again the pantomime villain for the South Africans in a World Cup clash.
Wesley Madhevere’s cameo in the first innings kept Zimbabwe in the game
Earlier in the match, Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first before the game was interrupted for a couple of hours due to nagging rain in Hobart. The match eventually resumed, with each side allocated nine overs to make up for the lost time.
With the powerplay reduced to just three overs, the message was clear for Craig Ervine’s side. But the South African pacers were relentless during the field restrictions as Zimbabwe struggled to clear the boundaries in the initial overs. The Protean pacers were assisted by some terrific efforts in the field as Quinton de Kock grabbed a stunner before David Miller’s direct hit drew curtains on Sean Williams’s innings.
With the scoreboard reading a grim 19/4 after 3.4 overs, things were looking bleak for Craig Ervine’s side. That is when the 22-year-old Wesley Madhevere compiled a counterattacking innings of 35 runs in just 18 deliveries to take Zimbabwe to a competitive score of 80 runs in their allocated nine overs.
