Even Alfred Hitchcock would have struggled to come up with a script with so many twists and turns and spine-tingling suspense as we saw in the first semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand. Not till the second last ball of the match was the winner decided.

And while New Zealand won a famous victory, I dare say South Africa didn’t deserve to lose, so close, gripping and emotionally draining had been the contest. It was easily the best match seen in this tournament.

True, New Zealand had played out a last over win against Australia too, but that was in the league. But the pressure of a semi-final is altogether different. And ultimately, it all boiled down to which team could handle it better.

Grant Elliott’s winning hit off the penultimate delivery, with everybody at the ground watching in pin-drop silence, stupefied by the see-saw battle that had brought the match to this heady climax, was reminiscent of Javed Miandad’s last ball six off Chetan Sharma in Sharjah in 1986.

It is unlikely that Elliott’s six would leave the same long-lasting impact on the opponents as Miandad’s had done, but South Africa will take some time to recover from the blow. They had started as favourites, and as skipper A B de Villiers said after the match, what would hurt is that a country which desired the title so badly, would feel terribly let down.

The stereotype of South Africans being `chokers’, however, would be unfair. They fought tooth and nail, clawing back into the match when all seemed over bar the hurrahs for the home team.

That both teams suffered from nerves was evident in the catches dropped in both innings. South Africa’s blemishes, of course, became stark since they were defending a total. But how close New Zealand came close to losing their resolve is evident from the run out of Guptill and the soft dismissals of Taylor, Anderson and Ronchi.

To New Zealand’s credit, they found the man for the occasion in Elliot. At 36, he is no spring chicken. In fact, he was considered the weakest link in a side bustling with batsmen with flair and bowlers with great skill.

But Elliott, the `senior citizen’ in the side like Dan Vettori, gave the team a couple of very cool heads who could handle the most excruciating circumstances. The young guns in the New Zealand side have been fabulous, but some wise old heads have provided depth, balance and maturity.

For all of Elliot’s superb batsmanship — and he was deservingly awarded the man of the match — I think the bigger influence in New Zealand’s victory was Brendon McCullum. Brilliant as a captain right through the tournament, McCullum went one better in this match, not just from the attacking field he set for his fast bowlers, but from the manner in which he defanged Dale Steyn.

In my opinion, this was the crucial face-off in the match. Steyn is the best fast bowler in the world, and after a lukewarm passage through the league phases, looked like he had come into his own in the quarter-finals against Sri Lanka. If he struck early blows, New Zealand would be stuffed.

McCullum’s counter-attack on Steyn was exhilarating to watch, but more importantly, also caused psychological damage to the South Africans. When your spearhead is treated so brutally, the shoulders begin to sag and the morale dips.

It was a great show of intent by the New Zealand skipper, for the target wasn’t small. It could be argued that the South Africans were a trifle unlucky in having their innings disrupted by rain just when Faf du Plessis and A B de Villiers had threatened mayhem.

But Miller’s late innings cameo had given the score enough heft, which was further boosted by Messrs Duckworth and Lewis. For New Zealand, the start not only had to be good, it had to win over decisive advantage.

This is what McCullum achieved by his annihilation of Steyn. Not only did New Zealand get off to a flying start, but it also created greater conviction in their dressing room that this match could be won, whatever the hardships.

The writer is a former sports editor of Times of India and leading cricket analyst

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2015

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