KOLKATA: South Africa are the only team to have entered the last four unconquered.
In a tournament generally dominated by batters, the South African pacers have stood out so far. The quartet of Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch have not only delivered wickets at regular intervals but also prevented opponents from running away with the game. Fittingly enough, in all the group-stage matches South Africa played, one of their pacers was adjudged Player of the Match with Ngidi bagging the trophy twice.
Captain Aiden Markram should also be credited as he was the who used these fast bowlers to the best of their potential. All these pacers bowled in tandem, especially in the death overs, to keep things under control, be it the first innings or the second innings of the match. And Bosch has been a go-to bowler for Markram especially between the 17 to 20 overs.
The 31-year-old pacer has bowled at least one over in that period, picking five wickets from eight overs. In fact, Bosch has the best economy of 6.2 runs per over in the death overs among the bowlers who have bowled 30-plus balls in the tournament during that phase. India's Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah are second and third respectively with an economy of 6.8 and 7.6. Overall, Bosch has claimed 10 wickets during that phase from 17 innings with an impressive economy of 7.45.
Bosch was teammate of Markram, Rabada and Jason Smith when South Africa won the 2014 U19 world title, the country's only ICC white-ball World Cup glory across all men's categories. Incidentally, Markram was the captain and team's leading scorer while Rabada was their top wicket taker with Bosch second to him. It was Bosch, who picked 4/15 against Pakistan to help South Africa win the crown. The performance also earned him Player of the Final trophy.
Things went south since then for the pace-bowling all-rounder even as his teammates Rabada and Markram made their way to the senior side. But Bosch stood tall and unfazed. Having grown up in the shadow of a personal tragedy where he lost his father Tertius, also a pacer who represented South Africa in one Test and two ODIs, under mysterious circumstances, the long wait and subsequent toil in domestic circuit meant nothing for Bosch. Earlier it was thought that Tertius died of a rare viral infection but 18 months later, his body was exhumed and autopsy suggested that he might have been poisoned. Bosch was only five then.
The incident of such magnitude could have broken anyone but not Bosch. He progressed by leaps and bounds and soon found himself representing the team in the U19 World Cup. But as his teammates graduated to the senior set up in front of him, he decided to add a few more skills to his game and move to Australia in 2016 and add pace to his bowling. He returned a year later and was prevented from going Down Under once by coaches saying his day would come. The wait was worth it as got opportunities with SA20 and Caribbean Premier League in 2022.
The day he dreamed of finally arrived when he made his international debut against Pakistan in an ODI at Johannesburg with none other than Markram handing him the cap. A few days later, he made his Test debut with his first T20I coming a few months later. Since then, he has been an integral part of the team.
"Bosch has a really, really good yorker, and it's something he takes a lot of pride in and has put a lot of work into it to get that role," Markram told journalists during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. The captain admitted that it's not the easiest role to have but Bosch wanted it badly and worked hard to succeed in it. "It's not, it's not the easiest role nowadays, owning the death overs, but he, at least from a mindset point of view, really wants it, and has been wanting it for a while, and has put the work in. And I think now the numbers are showing. This World Cup, he has done really well, and I'm sure he's looking forward to bowling some more exciting death overs," Markram added.
Bosch will once again hope to step up and do things his captain wants him to do. New Zealand will be the opponents this time at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday evening.