ICC Champions Trophy 2013: India v/s South Africa - The Quick Flicks

A game of all-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja and Ryan McLaren

The legend of ‘Sir’ Ravindra Jadeja continues

What was initially thought of as a contest between South Africa pacers and Indian batsmen turned out to be a game of all-rounders with India’s Sir Ravindra Jadeja and SA’s Ryan McLaren doing the star turn for their sides. Both southpaws did extremely well with bat and ball, but it was SRJ’s effort in the field that allowed India to sneak past SA. It was heartening to see McLaren find some form after a rather disappointing time in the IPL – unfortunately for all his heroics, he could only reduce the margin of defeat for his side. Both these performances reinforced my belief in ODI cricket – I might just start following the tournament regularly now!

Game changer- The Peterson dismissal

At 155/2 midway through the SA innings, you would think that the batting side had the game well and truly in their pocket. After all, their skipper had just scored a half-century and their designated pinch-hitter was looking very comfortable in the middle. However, you would have probably reckoned without the presence of a certain ‘Sir’ Ravindra Jadeja on the field. A splendid dive, quick pick-up and perfect throw found Peterson well short of his crease as wicket-keeper Dhoni removed the bails in a flash. Gone was the 124-run partnership, and it effectively derailed the Proteas’ charge despite fighting cameos from Ryan McLaren and Francois du Plessis. Peterson’s dismissal told me one thing - You don’t mess with the ‘Sir’!

Toothless pace attack

I am most likely going to draw a lot of flak with this sub-title. Despite securing a win, the Indian pace attack looked ineffective to me, especially when Peterson and de Villiers were blazing away. Granted that the pitch was a good one for batting, but that gives our pacers no excuse for a rather profligate performance. If you are willing to bend your back, the wickets will come, even in good batting conditions. Having the opposition six down for 212, all that the pacers had to do was keep attacking. Yet there was no sting in their approach. It allowed both McLaren and du Plessis to come up with little cameos that pushed the South African total past 300. I’m not impressed with this attack – they have to hit their straps quickly or the remaining games could become very tough for them.