South Africa lost two wickets in the first two overs and had to reassess their gameplan, getting to 169 for 8, which New Zealand crossed in just 12.5 overs thanks to a blistering 100 not out in just 33 balls from Finn Allen.

“For me, the important thing with the tempo of a chase or setting the score is what happens in the first two overs,” du Plessis said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. “If you saw what happened in tonight’s game… South Africa lost two wickets, it’s easy then to say we have to get 60 in the powerplay because at the back of your mind you are thinking we need to get a little bit more here because you are batting first.

“The same principle was applied with the West Indies the other night [against India]. We all said that if West Indies are to win this game, they need to get a big score batting first because their bowling is not as strong. We were sitting here and thinking that 220 they needed to stay in the contest.

“South Africa does have a better bowling unit, we understand that, but the thing is when you lose two wickets in the first two overs, there has to be a period of, ‘okay, we just need to get through this and then to go again’.”

South Africa, after being sent in, lost two wickets in two balls in the second over, bowled by Cole McConchie, to be reduced to 12 for 2. That began a period of consolidation with Aiden Markram and Dewald Brevis going fairly sedately. And when South Africa lost three wickets in a flurry between the eighth and 11th overs, it was always tricky for them.

Du Plessis felt that South Africa could have been smarter with their approach.

“If you lose the powerplay, you more often than not lose the game. If you go four down, you are out of it and South Africa were three [two] down for not many,” Du Plessis said. “If you break down the innings, you can see it is almost a game within a game. The first six overs were going to be challenging. You are seen out there as, ‘okay, right now the game-play seems like almost the previous game, it is a touch on the slower side, so how do we make sure we give ourselves weapons to have after six overs to really [go big] when it’s supposed to get easier’. Tonight, after ten overs, the wicket got easier.”

Du Plessis also said that once a team had lost the first powerplay, as was the case with South Africa, they must recalibrate and go hard after a brief period of consolidation, trying to reach the mark where they had intended to right from the get-go. To do that, wickets in hand were of the essence, but South Africa didn’t have many.

“Normally in a powerplay you have to go hard,” he said. “So there, tonight, was even more tougher than the other night when India was bowling. Now the assessment out there is, ‘ok perhaps it is not 50 after six, it is 35 after six. But wickets in hand is where we cash in later.

“And then in that, you have to go ultra hard and play catch-up. Let’s say you are 40 after six and are one or two down, [you] then start building and after ten is when you really go and put your foot down. Now we have got the foundation, so we are looking to go 220. We are still looking to get 220 but the method is different.”