 "T20 World Cup 2024 IND vs SA Final: How bowling put Proteas in the final?")
When South Africa entered their first-ever final after seven attempts in the semi-final of the T20 and ODI World Cups, it was in a game where their bowlers bowled the opposition out for the lowest-ever total recorded in a T20 World Cup semi-final. This was symbolic and significant as the entire T20 World Cup 2024 campaign of the Proteas has been built on brilliant bowling performances.
Drastic improvement in the economy rate
No doubt that the pitches in the USA and the Caribbean have been hard to play on, but even on these wickets, a certain skill is needed for the bowlers to exploit the conditions. The South African bowling line-up put all their learnings on display as they improved their performance, especially the economy rate from the previous editions.
| South Africa’s Run Rate and Economy Rate by Phase (2022 & 2024 T20 WC) | ||||
| Batting: South Africa's RR | Bowling: South Africa's ER | |||
| Phase | 2022 T20 WC | 2024 T20 WC | 2022 T20 WC | 2024 T20 WC |
| Powerplay | 8.33 | 6.6 | 7.03 | 5.7 |
| Middle | 9.02 | 6.37 | 7.45 | 6.01 |
| Death | 7.15 | 8.27 | 9.27 | 6.96 |
Though the batters have played as the other teams' batters have in this World Cup (slowly and steadily), it is the bowlers who have made the difference.
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Best economic side in this World Cup
The Proteas bowling unit is the most economical in this T20 World Cup 2024 as they have bowled with an economy rate of 6.13. Other teams are far away from them.
| Team Economy Rate (2024 T20 WC) *min 5 Matches | |
| Team | ER |
| South Africa | 6.13 |
| Bangladesh | 6.63 |
| India | 6.65 |
| Afghanistan | 6.69 |
| West Indies | 7.04 |
| Australia | 7.55 |
| England | 7.95 |
| USA | 9.15 |
The reason for such a brilliant economy is the fact that all five front-line bowlers of the South African team have given runs at below six runs an over. The number of Proteas bowlers to feature among the most economical bowlers list in the 2022 T20 World Cup was just one while it is five this time around.
| Most Economical Bowlers by WC Edition (min 100 balls) | |||
| 2022 T20 WC | 2024 T20 WC | ||
| Bowler | E/R | Bowler | E/R |
| Anrich Nortje | 5.37 | Jasprit Bumrah | 4.12 |
| Mustafizur Rahman | 5.6 | Ottneil Baartman | 4.94 |
| Tim Pringle | 6 | Mustafizur Rahman | 5.46 |
| Adil Rashid | 6.12 | Akeal Hosein | 5.64 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | 6.15 | Anrich Nortje | 5.64 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 6.16 | Noor Ahmad | 5.76 |
| Sean Williams | 6.16 | Kagiso Rabada | 5.88 |
| Naseem Shah | 6.23 | Naveen-ul-Haq | 6 |
| Shadab Khan | 6.34 | Marco Jansen | 6.03 |
| Fred Klaassen | 6.36 | Josh Hazlewood | 6.04 |
| Paul van Meekeren | 6.38 | Keshav Maharaj | 6.08 |
| Wanindu Hasaranga | 6.41 | Rashid Khan | 6.17 |