Chris Gayle may have to stop himself for South Africa to win today in the second Twenty20 International at the Wanderers (3pm).
Gayle, pictured , blew Faf du Plessis’ team away in Cape Town on Friday night, but his fragile fitness means even he’s never sure how he will shape up on match day.
Sure, it was only a 20-over match, but the short turnaround, coupled with travel, not to mention some late-night celebrations among the West Indies side after their comfortable four-wicket win, means Gayle may not be the force he was in the first match.
Du Plessis and Co can but hope…
Gayle admitted after his exhilarating 31-ball innings of 77 at Newlands that he wasn’t fully fit and that it could be difficult for him to back up today so soon after that performance.
The 35-year-old has had back issues – which kept him out of some matches for the Highveld Lions in the RamSlam and then the Test series against South Africa – and there are also problems with his hamstrings, which inhibit him from taking quick singles.
However, he’s overcome those issues with physical power, timing and what West Indies skipper Darren Sammy described as “good hand-eye co-ordination” to put his side on the front foot in the three-match series.
Who needs more than one net session (as Gayle claimed he had before Friday’s match) to prepare, then?
Gayle’s exploits meant the rest of the West Indies’ power-hitters were able to keep their powder dry so, while a lot of South Africa’s attention is focused on the big opener ahead of today’s match, the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sammy still have plenty in the tank for the second match.
Gayle said the West Indies are looking beyond the T20 matches.
“Hopefully, we can win this T20 series and give ourselves a boost going into the ODI series,” he said.
“With the World Cup just around the corner, you need momentum.
“I know it’s T20, but we have five important ODIs and if we can gain a lot of momentum going into the World Cup, it will give us more confidence. It will be important to cash in on this series.”
There are too many big names missing from South Africa’s line-up for there to be concern about the World Cup as it pertains to these T20 matches.
Du Plessis’ team needs to concentrate on improving on Friday night’s performance.
There may be personnel changes with the ball, though.
Kagiso Rabada was unfortunate to cop most of the pounding from Gayle and could be sidelined at his home ground in order to give Marchant de Lange a run.
De Lange has loads of pace, too, but crucially he’s also able to bowl at the “death”.
Wayne Parnell needs to provide a greater wicket-taking threat than was the case in Cape Town.
With the bat, South Africa need to be more dynamic in the power play.
Neither Reeza Hendricks nor Morné van Wyk attacked the new ball and if South Africa aren’t able to take advantage of the fielding restrictions in the first six overs, they’re losing the ability to post a big score against arguably the most powerful batting line-up in the T20 format.
SQUADS
South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Morné van Wyk, Faf du Plessis (capt), Rilee Rossouw, Dave Miller, Farhaan Behardien, David Wiese, Wayne Parnell, Kyle Abbott, Marchant de Lange, Imran Tahir, Aaron Phangiso, Justin Ontong, Kagiso Rabada.
West Indies: Dwayne Smith, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, André Russell, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, André Fletcher, Carlos Brathwaite, Sulieman Benn.