Kagiso Rabada has already delivered several critical spells at this T20 World Cup, yet what still lingers in his mind is one ball he got wrong. Speaking in Antigua after South Africa’s latest victory over West Indies, the fast bowler looked back at the narrow win against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad – the match that very nearly blemished the Proteas’ unbeaten run.
“I’m glad we won that game against Afghanistan. Otherwise, I would have blamed myself for sure,” he admitted. “On the positive side, I made it interesting but if we had lost that game, I would have taken it quite heavily, to be honest.”
That “interesting” moment came when Rabada over-stepped while bowling what ought to have been the final wicket. Noor Ahmed, reprieved, helped Afghanistan tie the contest before two Super Overs eventually went South Africa’s way. Rabada could only watch from the dug-out as Lungi Ngidi and, later, Keshav Maharaj closed the deal.
Asked what lesson he drew from the incident, Rabada kept it brutally straightforward. “Get behind the line. Simple as that.”
Since then he has been the least decorated of South Africa’s seamers – only two wickets from five outings prior to the West Indies match, four overall now – though he does not appear bothered. “That’s just the game of cricket,” he shrugged. “When you think about it and you think about how many times it actually goes for you, and how many times it actually does, (you realise) more often than not it goes for you. Unfortunately now it hasn’t been, but the most important thing is that we’ve been winning.”
Those missing wickets have largely landed in the hands of his team-mates. Ngidi and the ever-improving Marco Jansen currently sit joint-third on the tournament charts, while Ngidi has drawn level with Tabraiz Shamsi as South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals.
“I’m extremely happy for Lungs,” Rabada said. “He’s been under quite a lot of scrutiny over the past two to five years and that’s what you have to deal with as an athlete. He’s responded incredibly well.
“Sometimes the territory that we’re in as cricketers or athletes is pretty brutal because when you’re doing well, everyone reminds you of when you’re doing well. When you’re not doing well, it just feels twofold. So as an athlete, as a cricketer, I’m incredibly proud of how he’s actually turned that around for himself. And I’m extremely happy for him. He’s a good friend of mine.”
Few bowlers have mastered the slow-ball variations as effectively as Ngidi at this event. Rabada, never shy of technical praise, believes the delivery is among the hardest to land consistently under pressure – “extremely tough to bowl”, as he put it, a view echoed by several opposition batters this past week.
Ngidi’s resurgence is not limited to the shortest format. During last summer’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s he was a surprise inclusion, rusty in the first innings, and yet transformed the match in the second after Rabada’s light-hearted counsel to “have a milkshake, a steak and watch a movie and come back.” Three wickets later, South Africa were on course, and the friendship between the two quicks had one more cherished chapter.
Rabada has long worn the unofficial tag of attack leader, sometimes gladly, sometimes wearily. Sharing that responsibility now feels natural. “It’s a network because everyone has their own individual strengths that they bring to the game,” he said. The Proteas, six wins from six, seem comfortable living that truth.
