Rossouw gets off the mark

After two first-ball ducks in his first two matches, Rilee Rossouw must have been nervous when he geared up to face the first ball in his third match. It would be delivered by Neville Madziva, who he had not faced before. Although it would not stop the possibility of a run-out, which is how Rossouw was dismissed on debut at least Madziva was unlikely to make it turn and take the edge, which is how Rossouw became part of Prosper Utseya's hat-trick in his second game. Rossouw was greeted with a good length ball on offstump which he blocked boldly, striding forward and presenting the full face of the bat. The stroke was met with cheeky applause from the change-room because, for the first time in his ODI career, Rossouw would face a second delivery. He smiled, mostly in relief.

And on the next delivery, Rossouw registered his first international runs when Madiva grew a little too generous. He bowled it a little full, a little wide and Rossouw leaned into a cover drive and watched the ball roll to the boundary. This time the dressing room's clapping was genuine and Rossouw's grin was much wider and even Faf du Plessis, who was batting with him, walked to Rossouw's end of the pitch to offer congratulations which included a pat on the helmet and a hug. Almost the stuff of a half-century.

Rossouw would not go on to enjoy the festivities that accompany a fifty because he was foxed by a sharp turner from Sean Williams and was bowled for 36 off 39 balls. His first three innings: 0(1), 0(1) and 36 (39) which is eerily similar to someone else's first three ODI knocks which read: 0(2), 0(2) and 36 (39). Guess who the second person is? Sachin Tendulkar. Rossouw will likely take that as a good omen.

After AB de Villiers was run-out thinking the ball had been flicked fine of the keeper when it had in fact dropped at his feet in South Africa's first match of this triangular, he may have thought things would not get more bizarre but they did. De Villiers was going nicely on 16 off 18 balls and was at the non-striker's end with Faf du Plessis on 49 and was anxious to get his team-mate and childhood friend to a sixth fifty on the Zimbabwe tour. De Villiers had stepped well out of his crease at the non-striker's end when du Plessis pushed a Nyumbu delivery back to the bowler who fluffed the return chance. But in moving across the pitch, Nyumbu was in the line of the ball's path and it deflected off him and hit the stumps. De Villiers had his bat in the air as he tried to get back in time and was short of his ground. .

Rossouw's day had cause for a double celebration when he was called on to turn his arm over because South Africa did not have a third spinning option. During Rossouw's first over - the 26th - South Africa were assured of their place in the final because that was when Zimbabwe needed to reach the target by if they wanted to play on Saturday, but during his second, Rossouw picked up a wicket. He sent down a juicy short ball that asked to be hit over midwicket but Elton Chigumbura could only find the fielder. Not only did that gave Rossouw his first international run and wicket on the same day, but it also gave him his first wicket in any limited-overs match.

Without a second specialist spinner in the XI, South Africa were toggling between Aaron Phangiso, JP Duminy and Rossouw but when AB de Villiers ran out of ideas, he chose to go with what he knows best - himself. De Villiers marked out a run-up at the start of the 35th over and gave the ball a little twirl before jogging up and delivering his first. It went down the leg-side and kept moving away to trickle for a wide plus one. De Villiers' second delivery was no better - also a wide. And later in the over he was hit for six by Brendan Taylor. Maybe that was not such a good idea after all.