MATCH STORIES
Follow UsOver the last five weeks, Marco Jansen has played four T20 games — two for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and two for South Africa.
His collective figures in the IPL fixtures were 1/89 in seven overs, at 12.7 runs per over.
On the contrary, his returns in the two games for South Africa in the ongoing T20 World Cup are 2/35 in 7.1 overs. The economy is under five runs per over.
Jansen was not a certain starter for SRH. In fact, he featured in only three of SRH’s 17 games in the season. Mostly a wicket-taking option with the new ball for whichever side he plays for, Jansen neither picked wickets nor could put a break on the scoring rate.
Cometh the World Cup, he is virtually unplayable.
More than Jansen’s own fortunes, the numbers above showcase the contrasting nature of the two tournaments. IPL 2024 was an intent-driven tournament heavily biased in favour of batters. The T20 World Cup has been the polar opposite, with an average run rate of 6.7, the lowest among all World Cup editions in the format.
South Africa have played both their games in New York, the venue with the lowest run rate in the tournament — 5.8.
In the first fixture against Sri Lanka, Jansen had 0/15 to his name in 3.1 overs. In the powerplay, he bowled two overs for six runs. While the wickets went to Anrich Nortje (four wickets for seven runs), Jansen’s bowling was suited to the inconsistent bounce of the New York pitch, and he did set the tone for the Proteas.
In the second match, Jansen picked 2/20 in four overs against the Netherlands. The wickets came right in the powerplay, where the left-arm seamer bowled three overs on the trot for 11 runs. The pitch this time was more consistent in terms of bounce, but Jansen, still generating extra bounce off the good length, was tough to negotiate for the Dutch batters.
By the end of Jansen’s first spell, Netherlands were 20/3 after the powerplay. They had lost their top three with one wicket going to Ottniel Baartman at the other end. Jansen played a part even there, taking a one-handed blinder at first slip diving to his left.
Yet, it wasn't a perfect day for Jansen. The 24-year-old bowled a wicket-taking delivery off a no-ball in his first spell. Returning for his final over, he dropped a tough catch off his bowling. However, he still laid the platform for South Africa to restrict their bogey team to 103/9.
Jansen is a vital player for South Africa in this competition, as he was also in the previous World Cup. The lack of seam-bowling all-rounders makes him their only option to extend their batting to number seven without compromising their bowling resources.
Hence, him clicking early in the tournament, complying with the conditions, is an excellent news for South Africa.
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