Win with a Touch of Panic, and Calm...

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    South Africa duly received the scrap they needed to remind them that this is a World Cup and it’s not supposed to be easy. Temba Bavuma admitted afterwards that “some panic may have set in” during the main body of the run chase which left 21 runs required from the final two wickets but others might point out that the positive approach meant that time and overs were never a problem at the end.

     Aiden Markram’s super-positive 91 from 93 balls and fast-scoring cameos from Quinton de Kock, Bavuma himself, David Miller and Marco Jansen reminded many observers of the ‘never slow down’ approach adopted by Eoin Morgan’s England side in their prime. Bavuma wasn’t so sure:

    “We need to have conversations about being more clinical in run chases,” the captain said, admitting that there may have been times when changing down a gear or two would have been appropriate. He also said that the usually hard-hitting Keshav Maharaj’s ‘slowly, slowly’ approach divided opinion in a nervous change room.

    “I won’t mention names,” he said, but some of the guys were worried that he was being so subdued – that’s not how he plays,” Bavuma said with a smile. “But all credit to Kesh, he got us over the line and it will serve the team well going forward.”

    “When it was 16 needed off about 40 balls the odds are in your favour if you just stay calm and get bat on ball,” Maharaj said. “I had full confidence in Lungi and Tabraiz [grinning unconvincingly], although there were a few moments when I thought about trying to hit boundaries. But I thought staying calm and patient was the best option,” Maharaj said.

    “It was just a case of getting your bat in the way, it was that simple,” said last man Shamsi. “They were always going to be targeting our stumps so it was just a case of watching the ball and getting the bat in the way. I love pressure moments like that, I had the belief that we could do it.

    As seems always the case with any match involving Pakistan, often through no fault of their own as in this instance, there was a moment of controversy. When the third umpire adjudicated on Rassie van der Dussen’s DRS query about his lbw decision, the first image of ball-tracking which appeared on the big screen showed the ball to be missing leg stump.

    Rassie isn’t the sort to tuck his bat under his arm and disappear meekly at the best of times, but it was clear that he had seen the first image and was understandably ‘confused’ when the second image showed the delivery clipping leg stump. There was a legitimate explanation.

    Afficionados of modern cricket coverage might have noticed that the television standard was well below par with an over-reliance on Spidercam and a series of repetitive camera angles. A burst water-pipe in the main production control-room overnight left the majority of the 25 cameras inoperable. The world feed was cobbled together with the use of Star TV’s six independent cameras.

    The producers of the world feed despatched their director to Mumbai to head up the emergency team but the local director refused to be moved aside. It was he who called for the Hawkeye graphic before all the angles and information had been processed. It was human error, not a technical fault – and certainly not a conspiracy.

    A crowd of 28,900 was a relief for a tournament which has failed to capture the imagination so far, the majority of them supporting Pakistan but only once safely inside the stadium. Hundreds could be seen buying replica shirts just outside the venue and putting them on underneath the shirt they were wearing to facilitate smooth passage through the turnstiles before revealing their allegiance.

    “At least we helped provide the close finish the tournament needed to give it a kickstart,” said a philosophical Director of Pakistan Cricket, Mickey Arthur. “It’s just a shame that we were on the wrong side of the result.”