Planning can be overrated – ask SA

Proteas have come together at right time to gain momentum

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

OVER the last 48 hours and the next 48 hours, the Proteas would have and will be reminded of the one T20I match they had no right losing.

With Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller in the middle and South Africa needing 30 from as many balls (and 26 from 24) to win the final of the last edition in 2024, the win predictor for them was in the high 90s. India had nothing but a wing and a prayer, a hail mary. South Africa, it seemed, had not just a winning hand but a royal flush.

That’s when one of the greatest heists began as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Under Rohit Sharma, India went on to win that World Cup. They immediately started putting in place the building blocks to defend that title in 2026. Regimes changed. A new captain was identified. Openers changed. New bowlers were added. A new short-term plan was put in place effective immediately to win the title in front of their fans. Their role clarity, if anything, has only strengthened. Their ratio since that heady sun-kissed day in Barbados is 5.8 wins per every loss. Suryakumar Yadav, their captain, has featured in 40 out of 45 T20I games in the intervening period.