Pace off at T20 World Cup 2026: How South Africa is using slower deliveries to reap quick dividends in Ahmedabad

When the going gets tough, take a step back. When the runs are flowing, take the pace off—that is perhaps the cricket corollary to this crisis-coping mechanism.

At the fastest scoring venue—the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad—in the ongoing T20 World Cup, runs have flowed at 9.38 per over. The only other ground where the run rate exceeds nine runs per over in this competition is the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai (9.25).

But when the quicks take the pace off the ball (below 119 kmph), the run rate in Ahmedabad dips to 6.65 an over, the lowest at any venue in the tournament. In fact, the venue has witnessed the lowest scoring rate against the slower ones by a distance, with Eden Gardens second, at exactly nine runs per over. The bowling average for the slower deliveries in Ahmedabad stands at a mere 11.83, almost seven runs lower than the next lowest, the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo (18.71).

South Africa, which played its first three matches in Ahmedabad and won all of them, including a double Super Over thriller, has been particularly accurate with its use of pace variations. In the Group D clash against the Kiwis on Saturday, Marco Jansen led the charge, dismissing both Finn Allen and Mark Chapman with the slower ones at crucial junctures in the game to restrict New Zealand to a below-par total.

The Proteas’ fast bowlers haven’t used their pace variations the most frequently, but they have done so most efficiently. They have bowled 47 deliveries under the 119 kmph-mark, picking four wickets at an average of 12.25, the second-best amongst teams that have bowled a minimum of 40 such deliveries. Meanwhile, their economy rate of 6.25 is the best in the same bracket.

Unpredictability is a prized commodity in T20 cricket, and the South African pacers have retained that element by mixing up their pace. Of the teams that have bowled at least 40 balls under 119 kmph in this tournament, South Africa’s share of such deliveries is the lowest, at 19.5 per cent. In contrast, Oman, the USA and the Netherlands, which have bowled more deliveries than South Africa in this speed window, have employed them too often. If you have a strike weapon, use it sparingly. The South African pacers’ ability to operate at high speeds also makes their slower ones more deceiving. They have the highest average bowling speed in the ongoing competition, at 133.33 kmph.

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Nine of the 19 wickets picked by South Africa’s quicks so far have come off deliveries clocked at less than 125 kmph. These deliveries have produced a wicket every 9.55 runs for the South Africans, the lowest for any team that has bowled at least 20 such balls, and go at just 6.88 runs an over, the second lowest (minimum 20 balls).

The use of the slower ones by the South African pacers in the PowerPlay has been particularly impressive. Deliveries under 125 kmph have produced three wickets at an economy rate of just 3.14 during the field restrictions. Pace-off cutters pitched on a full length have also been devastating from a South African perspective. They have produced five wickets in just 17 deliveries at an astounding economy rate of 3.52.

“As a batter, facing them (pace-off deliveries), it can be quite challenging, especially if it’s quite deceiving. You work out if it’s off-pace through cutters and really trying to grip the ball on the surface, or if you’re trying to get the batter through deception. And then, it’s about the bowler sort of committing to one of the two. So, you’re breaking the pace of the game. You’re asking the batter to kind of swing at different speeds. It’s not just one speed coming at them the whole time,” South Africa captain Aiden Markram said, explaining why the slower deliveries have been particularly effective in the tournament.

Markram’s pacers have gone about using the changeups with clarity. Out of the 75 slower deliveries (under 125 kmph) they have bowled in the tournament, 55 have been cutters, which have produced eight wickets, at an average of 6.50 runs per scalp. Meanwhile, the USA—which has also made extensive use of the slower ones—has bowled all 54 of its cutters at pace-off. Therein lies the secret of South Africa’s unpredictability.

Armed with a pace battery that can bowl across phases and has had the advantage of acclimatising to the conditions and sharpening its variations, South Africa will be a force to be reckoned with, considering it will play two of its three Super Eight games, including the one against India, in Ahmedabad, which could potentially host the final too.

Jansen and Lungi Ngidi have already displayed their wares here, with the former also putting his own version of the knuckleball into practice in the contest against New Zealand. Kagiso Rabada and Corbin Bosch also seemed to get a better grip of the conditions and the surface against the Kiwis.

With the pitch likely to only get slower as the tournament wears on, the familiarity with the conditions could hold South Africa in good stead.

(Stats updated till Afghanistan vs UAE match on February 16, 2026)

Published on Feb 17, 2026