“Say that cricket has nothing to do with politics and you say that cricket has nothing to do with life.” – John Arlott
Telford Vice / Ahmedabad
DIFFICULT as it may be to believe, The World’s Biggest Cricket Stadium sneaks up on you. Once the tangled traffic of Ahmedabad’s centre is sloughed off, head northwest on good roads for Motera and see a street of villas here, a school there, a hospital somewhere else, a temple or two, or three, and a metro rail above it all.
Anything vast enough to accommodate 132,000, each in the splendour of their own plastic seat, seems far away. Then, suddenly, it looms. Rather it sprawls squat and fat like some kind of massive primordial slug fallen on its side, foot curled to head. Once within its billowing innards you could be anywhere. Think the Gabba. On steroids.
Those who prefer their cricket on a maidan, at a club, in a village or a meadow, near a beach or a tree, under the gaze of a mountain or a gasometer, or in front of a starring pavilion and a supporting cast of stands, are unlikely to feel at home here.
This is a stage for cricket as spectacle, a place to come and bay for and against gladiators, and where the batting of an eyelid — much less a ball — can and will be analysed by the 132,000 watching on the big screens until it has been drained of all meaning, real and imagined. Is it a place fit for a men’s World Cup final, white-ball cricket’s spectacle among spectacles? Indubitably.
On Friday it will be the scene of, comparatively, a much smaller deal. Afghanistan and South Africa will play their last league match of the tournament here. Barring events that would make Bollywood scriptwriters blanche in disbelief, the Afghans are going home. The South Africans have secured a semifinal against Australia at the Eden Gardens next Thursday. This is as dead as dead rubbers get.
But it will be watched nonetheless — most keenly if South Africa bat second, a role in which they have failed to convince so far in the tournament. Should they bat first, the contest could well be decided by the time the sun sets over Ahmedabad. South Africa have won 62.57% of all ODIs in which they have batted first, and 65.52% of all those they have played in India when they have batted first. This year they have 90.91% of those in which they have batted first. Ergo, South Africa have been significantly more successful when they have batted first.
Also to be noted, considering Ravindra Jadeja took 5/33 against them in Kolkata on Sunday, is how they cope with Rashid Khan and the rest of Afghanistan’s crack spin attack. Whatever they do, the South Africans won’t want to make a bad memory at a place they hope to return to for the final on November 19.
Afghan supporters will look for signs of life in the wake of Glenn Maxwell hammering an undefeated 201 against them at the Wankhede on Tuesday. Not only did Maxwell hit his way into cricket’s big book of classic performances, he also took away from Afghanistan what looked for all money like their fifth win in eight matches as well as their fourth victory over teams considered stronger than them. With that went much of the credit the Afghans had earned for beating Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka, former World Cup champions all.
And Afghanistan, not only as a team but as a country that is in the news alarmingly often for horrific and harrowing reasons that go way beyond cricket, can use all the positivity it can find. One such reason is the treatment of women in that society. It would seem an obvious topic for questions asked of their players at press conferences — until the likely consequences of their answers for family members in Afghanistan is considered.
There is politics at play, too, in the very existence of The World’s Biggest Cricket Stadium in this far flung place in western India, far from the brighter lights of the bigger cities. Which is not to necessarily cast aspersions on how it, along with the rest of the solid new infrastructure rising all over Ahmedabad, came to be here. Would that more elected representatives, if they reach high office, remember where they came from and who put them there.
“Say that cricket has nothing to do with politics and you say that cricket has nothing to do with life,” John Arlott said. He knew more than a little about cricket, politics, life, and everything else. What he might have made of The World’s Biggest Cricket Stadium would have been good to know.
When: November 10, 2023 at 14:00 IST
Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
What to expect: Plenty of dry heat, a touch of turn and not a lot of swing. Anticipate a first innings of around 280 — even England managed that — when the team in the field aren’t India, who blitzed Pakistan for 191 here.
Teams:
Afghanistan
Fazalhaq Farooqi could return at the expense of Noor Ahmad, although Mujeeb Ur Rahman might need compassionate leave in the wake of dropping Glenn Maxwell on 33 in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Tactics & strategy
A slow burn with the bat, a strong turn with the ball. The Afghans aren’t flashy at the crease, but they have been solid enough after being dismissed for 156 by Bangladesh: 272/8 and 284 against India and England, both in Delhi, 291/5 against Australia at the Wankhede. Much has been made of their spinners, but the seamers have claimed 21 of the 48 wickets taken by the bowlers.
Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq
South Africa
Andile Phehlukwayo is the only member of the squad who has yet to play a game in this World Cup.
That’s an arbitrary fact, but the South Africans attracted unwanted attention — politically and otherwise — when Aaron Phangiso was the only one of their players who rode the bench throughout the 2015 edition.
Tactics & strategy
Bat first and bat big. There is no longer uncertainty over South Africa’s preferred way of going about things. That doesn’t mean they can’t chase or that their quality attack can’t hurt opposing line-ups if they field first, but they do better when the batters have already bullied a welt of runs into the scorebook.
Probable XI: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee.
Did you know?
— Pace has taken almost double the amount of wickets as spin — 28 versus 15 — at this venue and at a better average — 32.04 versus 37.93 — during the World Cup.
— Pakistan and the Netherlands have conceded 300 in the tournament three times each, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka twice, and England and South Africa once. Afghanistan? Zero.
— Since these teams played their only ODI against each other, at the 2019 World Cup, Afghanistan have won 43.90% of their matches in the format and South Africa 56.86%.
What they said:
“As a team we feel proud. We are happy with what we did in this World Cup. But, as a captain, I wanted and I expected more. We should have done better.” — Hashmatullah Shahidi rues his team’s squandered chance to beat Australia.
“It’s just that it’s being compared to what we have done batting first, which has been exceptional. We haven’t been horrific chasing; it’s one or two games where we’ve slipped up, which is part of the game.” — David Miller doesn’t believe South Africa are more beatable when they bat second.
Squads:
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lizaad Williams
Cricbuzz
Bulletproof Truth 