South Africa are aiming for their first ODI victory in India in more than two years.
Despite having to deal with top-order veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, captain Temba Bavuma believes the Proteas can hit back in the second of three one-day international (ODI) matches against India in Raipur on Wednesday (10am start).
In the opening match of the series last week, the hosts earned a 17-run victory, with 38-year-old Sharma hitting 57 runs (his 60th ODI half-century) and 37-year-old Kohli bashing 135 runs (his 52nd ODI century) to receive the Player of the Match award.
Eager to level the series, Bavuma said they refused to be intimidated by the presence of two of the sport’s most celebrated batters who played key roles in putting the home side in front in the series battle.
“They’ve got two guys who have a wealth of experience and a wealth of skill, and that can only benefit their team,” Bavuma said on Tuesday.
“It’s not something we’re not aware of. Rohit (Sharma) played in 2007 at the T20 World Cup (in South Africa) and I was still in school then, so I mean these guys have been around.
“So there’s nothing new. These are world-class players, and… and we’ve come across it.”
Captain returns
Bavuma, who missed out on the series opener last week due to illness, said the Proteas were driven to recover after losing the first match of the ODI campaign.
Having earned a historic 2-0 Test series victory against India last month, Bavuma said the SA team were pumped to keep themselves in the fight, with one more ODI game to play this weekend ahead of the five-match T20 series.
“We’ve been on the bad end of it but we’ve also had good times against them, so I think it all just makes the series a lot more exciting, you know,” the skipper said.
“I’ve always said as a one-day side we’re in a different space as if we keep comparing it to the Test side. We’re still building where we want to be, and I doubt we will have guys who go on to play 250 matches like the Indian guys have, but young guys… in five or 10 years time they can also get to those levels.”
It was unclear whether Bavuma had been cleared to compete in the crunch match in Raipur on Wednesday, but his presence at the pre-match press conference suggested he had recovered and would form part of the national team.
The Proteas have lost six of their last seven ODI matches against India, and they have not won a game against the hosts in the 50-over format on Indian soil since October 2022.
