Marco Jansen has improved massively in recent times.
South Africa clean-swept India at home in the two-match Test series last year, and Marco Jansen was the chief destructor. He scored 106 runs at an average of 35.33 in three innings, with a fifty, and took 12 wickets, the second-most, at 10.08 runs apiece.
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Jansen revealed how he took cues from Jasprit Bumrah in Kolkata, the venue for the first Test, and went on to emulate it during the warm-up. Later, he applied them in the game and found instant success, which was the biggest reason for his team’s historic victory.
“In the first Test match [in Kolkata], I looked at [Jasprit Bumrah], at the replays of his wickets, and I saw from his hand and the ball that there were so many revs on the ball. I figured, let me just try and emulate what he’s doing. So in the warm-up, I did it, and it looked like something was happening. It seemed like the ball was actually moving off the wicket, and it was like that sharp, quick movement. Then I tried it in the match, and I took two wickets quickly, and I just sort of stuck with it and went with it.”
Jansen took five wickets across two innings in Kolkata, but his best came in Guwahati, where the left-arm pacer took as many as seven wickets, including a six-wicket haul in the first innings. He could generate additional bounce from an awkward angle and extracted seam movement to put Indian batters into further trouble.
Coincidentally, Marco Jansen will again have a chance to show his improvements at the same venue where his development as a pacer began, all thanks to Jasprit Bumrah. South Africa will face New Zealand in the first T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal at Eden Gardens on Wednesday (March 4).
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Jansen will also look to overcome past failures at the same venue, where he endured two expensive outings during the 2023 World Cup. He conceded 94 runs in 9.4 overs – his most expensive ODI figures ever – against India before another 35 in 4.2 overs in the semifinal against Australia, ending as South Africa’s worst bowler in the fixture.
However, he has evolved massively since then, and South Africa would welcome nothing more than seeing him put those demons to rest against the Kiwis. Jansen is currently their joint second-leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 11 wickets at an average of 16.73 in five innings, including two four-wicket hauls.
There’s also substantial batting value since the all-rounder has worked on his range hitting and power game to provide late impetus in slog overs. Several players have contributed handsomely for South Africa so far, but Jansen remains one of their most important players on their run to a maiden T20 World Cup title.
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