Coming right after the IPL, the T20 World Cup shows how the game can change once the nature of the contest shifts from bat versus bat to bat versus ball.
It was the 31st game of the ongoing T20 World Cup. Nepal had kept the Proteas, with a batting lineup that included heavy hitters like Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, down to 115/7 in the allotted 20 overs.
Those four had, between them, hit 59 sixes in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League, just ahead of the World Cup. In the game against Nepal, the Proteas’s tally of sixes was two—and neither was hit by one of the big four.
Chasing 116, and seemingly in total control at 99/3 after 17.2 overs, …
Prem Panicker has been a journalist for over 30 years. From daily newspapers to weekly magazines and digital news portals—he was one of the seven journalists who were part of the Rediff.com start-up team—he has written and edited features extensively across mediums and publications. Since quitting his job at Yahoo in 2014, he has been working as a freelance writer and editor, as well as teaching narrative journalism.
newsletters+prempanicker@mailtmc.com