Raipur: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma hailed his side’s composure after they completed a mammoth chase of 359 to beat India by four wickets in the second ODI and level the series 1-1. He added that the visitors will take a lot of confidence from this win, coming at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Wednesday night.
South Africa rode on Aiden Markram’s superb century, along with breezy fifties by Matthew Breetzke and Dewald Brevis, to pull off a mammoth chase of 359 and beat India by four wickets. “I’m happy to have crossed the line. Coming into this game, we were thinking of how we could get better with the ball. I think with the ball, there are more conversations that we could have. But with the bat, definitely better up front with the top three.”
“The partnerships between Aiden-Breetzke, carrying on with his form, and Bosch, showing a lot of maturity there. Finishing also, better showing from us. Unbelievable game. I think it’s a record chase and I think it shows how well we need to play against this Indian side,” said Bavuma at the conclusion of the game.
South Africa chased down 359 with four balls to spare, thanks to Markram’s 110, followed by Breetzke’s fluent 68 and Brevis’ enterprising 54. “Yeah, it was a contribution from almost everyone, and we would need it in a big run-chase like that. I came to the crease with Aiden; he was hitting the ball.”
“I was trying to build a partnership with him. But I think that was the biggest thing, trying to take the game deep. I think that’s not really a thing now in modern-day cricket. But it was all about the partnership and trusting the guys who were coming behind me that they would be able to chase down whatever score,” added Bavuma.
He also felt sending Brevis to bat at No.4 was a move that paid off. “I think the ploy of sending Brevis early worked in our favour. A lot of confidence that we can take from this game. I think we set it up to be an exploding series. I think the guys who are here are our best players.” IANS