In June of next year, travel from South Africa to Zimbabwe will be necessary, so if you need to make the trip, now is the time to get your plane tickets. People like Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada, and Quinton de Kock are expected to book a large number of them, increasing their demand.
If South Africa is going to make it to the World Cup in 2023, they will likely have to qualify in the nation to their north. This was the situation before Bavuma’s squad thrashed India in Lucknow on Thursday, and it is still the case after their lopsided victory.
Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller Score Against India
An unbeaten century stands between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in difficult conditions against an in-form India attack. It was followed by Rabada, Wayne Parnell, and Keshav Maharaj limiting the damage to less than a run-a-ball added up to a hard-scrapped victory by nine runs.
They are sobering because it did nothing to help South Africa’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup. Even if India wins the series 3-0 on Sunday in Ranchi and again on Tuesday in Delhi, the status quo will not shift.
There’s no avoiding the truth that no matter how successful South Africa performs in their last seven WCSL games, they will almost certainly be heading to Zimbabwe to duke it out with the minnows.
Since their return from the cold of apartheid in 1992, South Africa has attended every single event. South Africa has been a full member of the Cricket Association since 1909. Therefore, they didn’t have to qualify for their first seven visits. For the 2019 qualifier, the top eight teams from the WCSL’s May rankings, plus hosts India (now sixth), will compete for a spot in the finals.
Among the league’s 13 teams, the South Africans currently sit at position 11. The top 10 clubs in the league are all farther along in their 24-game schedules. The West Indies have already finished with their schedule and are in ninth place with 88 points.
South Africa may go up to the ninth position with three victories in India. Also, not quite within the region of direct qualifying yet. The rankings are set to remain unchanged until New Zealand hosts India in November.
South Africa’s Tour to Australia
South Africa’s tour to Australia begins with a Test series on December 17, which was supposed to coincide with the following WCSL season. To have its star players available for the first-ever SA20 in January and February, CSA chose to forfeit that rubber.
Maybe things would have turned out differently if South Africa hadn’t dropped points against Ireland in Dublin last July. If their home series against the Netherlands in November hadn’t been hampered by bad weather (the first match was postponed) and the pandemic (the other two matches were postponed).
The possibilities and caveats are irrelevant, though. What this means is that following the India tour, South Africa’s greatest hope of avoiding a trip to Zimbabwe will rest on their ability to win all three home games against England in January and February and both of their home games against the Dutch in March.
Surely, nothing but the weather stands between South Africa and a victory against the Netherlands. The English, meanwhile, will provide a far greater challenge, despite having won just two of their past five full ODIs.
The aforementioned series are only two of the next nine that will go toward WCSL standings. That means a lot may change depending on the outcomes of those 24 games. South Africans will be hoping that Thursday’s victory was a significant step in the right direction.
The arc of history would ultimately favor their squad. But their squad is so far behind the pack that proclaiming a new day would be little more than marketing jargon (log leaders England are 66 points ahead of them, while the Windies are in the seventh position, 29 points down).
India’s T20I World Cup Journey Starts on The Same Day They Win
The most likely explanation is that India’s success on Thursday came against a depleted side since their T20I World Cup squad left for Australia on the same day. Keep in mind that the home team doesn’t have to worry about qualifying since they are hosting next year’s event.
Even so, it’s hard for South African fans not to be encouraged by Klaasen and Miller’s 106-ball partnership of 139, which began following the dismissals of Janneman Malan, Bavuma (for eight, his fourth failure in as many innings on this tour).
Aiden Markram with only 71 runs scored, and in the wake of Quinton de Kock’s removal (at what seemed to be the peak of his performance) after only 48 runs had been scored. The two most consistent South African bowlers, Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi, both took the biggest hit during India’s reply, allowing 6.50 and 11.12 runs per over, respectively.
The fact that it didn’t end up being a game-changing factor is good news for the faithful. Ngidi recovered from his beating well enough to dismiss India’s most dangerous batsman, Shardul Thakur, for 93 runs in his last two overs. Ngidi then removed Kuldeep Yadav on the following delivery, effectively sealing the victory for South Africa.
Finishing Off This Discussion
The visitors batted first, reaching 249/4 in the 40 overs their innings was limited to because of rain, and then they had to fight back with the ball to win the game. Given a buffer of 30 runs in the last over, they could have done without seeing Shamsi crushed for 20.
South Africa, though, kept their cool and earned 10 more WCSL points. Although it wasn’t quite as convincing as it may have been, the fact remains that character and grit were shown.
Even still, the more daring and practical South African fans would consider how much it would cost to go to Zimbabwe in June of next year.
