SA vs NZ – Faf du Plessis – ‘You lose the powerplay, you more often than not lose the game’

South Africa lost two wickets in their first two overs and had to re-evaluate their game plan and end up at 169 for 8. New Zealand got through in just 12.5 overs thanks to Finn Allen’s 100 from just 33 balls.

“For me, what matters in terms of the tempo of the chase or setting the score is what happens in the first two overs,” du Plessis told ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. “If you saw what happened in the game tonight… South Africa lost two wickets, it’s easy to think that we should get 60 runs in the powerplay because in your mind, because you’re batting first, you should get a little bit more here.

“The same principle applied to West Indies last night. [against India]. We all said that if West Indies want to win this game, they have to score big in their batting first because their bowling is not that strong. We’re sitting here thinking that 220 people should still be in the competition.

“South Africa have a better bowling unit, we understand that, but the problem is when you lose two wickets in the first two overs there has to be a period where you think, ‘OK, we’ve got to get through this and get going again’.”

South Africa lost two wickets in two balls in their second over, bowled by Cole McConchie after being put in, and were reduced to 12 for 2. This began a period of consolidation, with Aiden Markram and Dewald Brevis progressing with considerable composure. And when South Africa lost three wickets in a flurry between the eighth and 11th overs, it was always going to be tricky for them.

Du Plessis felt South Africa could have been smarter with their approach.

“If you lose on the power play, more often than not you lose the game. Four losses are all you need to get out, and South Africa have three losses. [two] “If you break down the innings, you can see that it was almost a game within a game,” Du Plessis said. The first six overs were going to be difficult. You’re thinking, ‘Okay, now the gameplay is pretty much the same as the previous game, just a little bit slower, but how do I see if I can get the weapon after 6 overs?’ [go big] ‘It’s time for it to get easier’. “Tonight, after 10 overs, the wickets got easier.”

Du Plessis also said that once a team loses the first powerplay, as was the case in South Africa, they have to readjust after a short period of consolidation and work hard to try to get to the point they intended from the beginning. To do that, it was essential to have wickets in hand, but there weren’t many wickets in South Africa.

“Usually on the power play you have to work hard,” he said. "So tonight was a lot tougher than the last night when India bowled. The assessment now is, ‘Maybe it’s not 50 after 6, it’s 35 after 6. But wickets in hand are where we make money later.’

“Then you have to try extremely hard to catch up. Let’s say you’re 40 after six and you’re a year or two younger. [you] Then you start building and after 10 o’clock it’s time to really go and put your feet down. Now that I have the basics in place, I’m aiming for 220. “I’m still aiming for 220, but in a different way.”