South Africa, having built confidence from strong tournament performances while chasing, made a pivotal choice to bat first in the crucial semi-final. Despite winning the toss, their early performance didn’t capitalize on this advantage.
It seemed as if they had willingly set themselves up for a batting collapse right from the beginning. Bavuma fell quickly after nicking one to the keeper off Starc, while Hazlewood’s superb bowling constrained the scoring on a pitch offering swing, pace, and bounce.
De Kock’s aggressive approach led to his dismissal too, leaving the team’s openers dismissed with minimal runs on the scoreboard. Aiden Markram finally secured the first boundary of the innings in the ninth over, offering a slight ray of hope.
Under intense pressure, van der Dussen and Markram tried to hold steady but soon joined the procession back to the pavilion, leaving South Africa reeling at 24/4. The five-time World champions had a firm grasp on the match, and the Proteas desperately needed a substantial partnership to turn things around.
— virat Sharma (@viratSharm69964) November 16, 2023
Twitter buzzed with reactions as the much-anticipated team failed to live up to expectations in a critical match against a strong opponent.
