The national cricket team and their steadfast supporters would have sung that one with gusto on Saturday after overcoming age-old demons that haunted them for so long
‘Shosholoza’ is a popular song of encouragement in South Africa. It deals with sticking to the task even as the goal seems very far. The national cricket team and their steadfast supporters would have sung that one with gusto on Saturday after overcoming age-old demons that haunted them for so long.
Their World Test Championship final win against impregnable Australia at cricket’s mecca of Lord’s in London was indeed the icing on the cake that must have gone well with the champagne that had been on ice for 27 years in quest for an ICC trophy.
Cases of so-near-yet-so-far have been plenty for the Proteas, who have slipped on the final stretch, to be tagged “chokers” in the cricket world. Now, it’s a full-throated cry of victory. “Whilst we were batting, we could hear the Aussies using that dreaded word, choke,” South African captain Temba Bavuma said after the match. The joke was now on the Aussies.
South Africa’s victory is a result of crafty calculation, determined performances and favour from up above. Brave Bavuma won the toss, chose to field and dug in deep during the fourth innings chase that can be tricky, as his team hunted down the second highest total in a Test at Lord’s.
His fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, coming back from a suspension for using drugs, was on a different high altogether, scalping nine wickets in the game. The bowlers were brilliantly backed up by the slip fielders who snapped up stunners. By contrast, seasoned Steve Smith may have let Australia down when he put down Bavuma’s catch (and probably the Test mace) in the slips.
Then there was Aiden Markram, who got out for a duck in the first innings as his team conceded a bothersome 74-run first-innings lead before picking himself off the floor to score a century in the second essay that put his team on the path to victory.
The Sun smiled on South Africa as well. After 28 wickets fell in the first two overcast days, bright sunshine made batting convenient, which was aptly summed up by Bavuma: “The Sun’s been with us.”
