AHMEDABAD: Shortly after the Indian run-chase began on a relatively pleasant Sunday evening in the city, the scorer informed the scribes that over 82,000 fans had come through the turnstiles. You probably would have wanted a bigger crowd but that's only because the Narendra Modi Stadium can hold over a lakh and change. In most other cricket Stadiums save the Melbourne Cricket Ground, it would be a sell out.
Most of those fans — it was a circular Blue Wall when it began filling up before the toss — had come in expecting an Indian win and one step closer to seeing this team on March 8, two Sundays from now. This team now has a lot of work to do to ensure they make that final.
At about 9.20 PM, this place resembled a library. The fans, who had created enough of a din in the first part of the match, were shushed into submission thanks to a statement performance by the Proteas. The DJ tried to rev up the crowd with chants of 'Surya, Surya, Surya', imploring them to join in. But the result was already in the post by then.
They picked the right team — something India didn't do — kept at it when they were behind the game in the first innings before delivering a blowout performance with the ball. In essence, they did to India something India have routinely done to all teams in this format since winning the World Cup two years earlier.
Sunday was the kind of night the cavernous Narendra Modi Stadium was built for. A big encounter under the lights against one of the game's foremost outfits. Sure, it has hosted a lot of bilateral contests across formats but this was going to be a different night. A World Cup game in the latter stages. The last time the stage was as grand as this in this city, Australia and Travis Head had won the World Cup. Sunday, then, was going to be an opportunity to win back some of those hearts.
Twenty minutes into the contest, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh had already put the hosts in position A1. Three for 20 after four overs. It was a dream of a beginning as the visitors were in disarray. Skipper Aiden Markram, who has thrived in his new role as enforcer up top, was supposed to be a key wicket. And the Indian new bowlers had done their homework on a wicket where the odd ball held a little in the surface. Apart from burgling Markram's wicket, they had also sent back Quintin de Kock and Ryan Rickelton, the latter thanks to an improbable skill from Bumrah.
But that's when the complexion of the match started to turn. David Miller and Dewald Brevis are at the opposite ends of their cricketing journey but they are united by their ability to find the gaps, clear the boundary line and possess this fearlessness when attacking. So what if I'm going to lose my wicket. It's the exact kind of attitude they took as they tore into Varun Chakravarthy, who returned figures of 1/47 (three wides). His radar malfunctioned as soon as Brevis and Miller went downtown and that was the big thing; they cleared the front leg and ensured they hit him in areas he couldn't hurt them.
But where India erred was in picking Washington Sundar over Axar Patel. The former didn't do too wrong (0/17 in two overs) but he never really threatened on a strip where they missed Patel's accuracy and his calmness on the field. But the team management decided to drop the vice-captain and it was one of the many reasons why they must now play catch up. Not everything is lost though, it's their first World Cup loss after 12 wins on the bounce. Under Suryakumar Yadav, this team has a win-loss ratio of over five. They now have to channel that over the next week to make the semis.
And that's really why the second phase of the World Cup is great as the jeopardy is dialled up. Their garden path to the semifinals has now turned treacherous. They can't afford any more missteps.
Brief scores: SA 187/7 in 20 ovs (Miller 63, Brevis 45, Stubbs 44; Bumrah 3/15) bt India 111 in 18.5 ovs (Dube 42; Jansen 4/22, Maharaj 3/24).