Staying in one place for three of their four group matches and two of their three Super Eight games has not exactly given South Africa forensic knowledge of conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium. But it has meant they haven’t had to deal with the admin of moving around. Even if there are people lugging bags on their behalf or driving them from A to B, travel is laborious, and an uninterrupted stretch of time in one place is good for, among other things, developing routines and sleep patterns.
Has bedding down in Ahmedabad given them any edge when it comes to conditions? Not really, according to Maharaj.
“From a pitch point of view, every game has been very different. In the four matches that we’ve played here, conditions have played very differently so I don’t see it as too much of an advantage. It’s just making sure that we adapt quicker rather than later compared to the opposition.”
Maharaj is not exaggerating. In South Africa’s time in Ahmedabad, they have played on three different kinds of surfaces, ranging from a red-soil pitch (against Afghanistan, New Zealand and the upcoming match against West Indies), mixed soil (for the opener against Canada), and black soil (against India). And they have had each of the different start times. They played night games starting at 7pm against Canada and New Zealand, and a morning game that began at 11am against Afghanistan. The West Indies game will be their first 3pm start, which means they will play through the heat of the afternoon and dew is unlikely to be a factor.
On a red-soil surface, more bounce is expected, which could sway the captains into bowling first, the more conventional option here with mixed results. In 13 T20Is to date, captains have won the toss and fielded 10 times, and won the match four times. The teams who have been sent in to bat have won five times out of 10, which makes the decision seem much of a muchness and may be why Maharaj said he “wouldn’t be able to answer” whether it’s a bat or bowl-first surface.
“We’re not worried too much about the venues, who played there or who didn’t play there. For us, it’s just coming out and understanding what needs to be done and executed.”
Floyd Reifer
South Africa bucked the trend in their previous match here, when Aiden Markram chose to bat first in the night game against India because he suspected that dew would not play a big role. Lungi Ngidi later confirmed it didn’t and so bowling later was not a disadvantage. Does that mean South Africa may prefer to defend a score? Maharaj didn’t know.
“I’ve tried to understand it as much as possible and I just try to adapt on the day and see what it’s giving you,” he said. “Generally they say red soil and black soil is very different in terms of reaction.”
For Tristan Stubbs, who also said South Africa are familiar with the place but not the pitches, it’s less about surfaces than circumstances, and it sounds like he prefers chasing. “When you bat second, the game’s right there in front of you and it’s telling you what to do,” he said. “When you bat first, the guys out in the middle have to take it upon themselves to assess a good score. It’s not often spoken about but as a batter you’ve got to feel what we need or what we don’t need in batting first.”
All of that may prove meaningless when they come up against the team that has hit more sixes than anyone else in the tournament. West Indies have cleared the boundary 55 times, compared to South Africa’s 41 and it may be muscle – and not location – memory that has the upper hand. That could be why West Indies batting coach Floyd Reifer said he was “not worried” about South Africa’s adopted home comforts.
“We’re not worried too much about the venues, who played there or who didn’t play there. For us, it’s just coming out and understanding what needs to be done and executed.”
West Indies have, so far, gone cross-country from Kolkata to Mumbai and landed in Ahmedabad late on Tuesday evening. They had one training session at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which was late on Wednesday afternoon. South Africa’s optional session was held before that, at the same time as the game, which could be read as another thing in their favour. Most of all, they will enjoy local support.
Indian fans are expected to cheer for a South Africa win, as that could turn the India-West Indies game into a quarterfinal, whereas a West Indies win would need India to win their next two games by big margins to progress. After they had 90,000 against them on Sunday, it would make a welcome change, though overall, South Africa have also enjoyed crowd support. “We’ve been received nicely in Ahmedabad from a crowd point of view and fan point of view, so hopefully much more of that,” Maharaj said.
ESPNcricinfo understands that one of the reasons the fixtures were drawn up this way was because the organisers wanted a team, other than co-hosts India who have been made to go around and out of the country, that is likely to draw a decent crowd at a cavernous venue and felt South Africa could be it. They were right, in that there has been fairly good support for all South Africa’s games, most notably when almost 55,000 people turned up to watch the match against New Zealand – even with little at stake. The unintended consequence is that South Africa have had a base to call home, and to which they could return if they make the final.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket