Temba Bavuma rues poor batting by the Proteas in the first T20I


image-l8lxyplaBavuma scored a duck in the first innings. (PC- Twitter)

South Africa's white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma reckons that the Proteas batters failed to apply themselves on the Thiruvananthapuram pitch after the visitors succumbed to an eight-wicket defeat in the first T20I.  

Indian bowlers Deepak Chahar and Arshdeep Singh dismantled the top order of South African batting as they were 9/5 in 2.3 overs with Temba Bavuma, Rilee Rossouw, Tristan Stubbs, and David Miller scoring ducks and Quinton de Kock making one run. 

It was thanks to 41 from Keshav Maharaj, 25 from Aiden Markram and 24 from Kagiso Rabada that the visitors managed to post 106/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Arshdeep picked 3/32, Chahar took 2/24 and Harshal Patel took 2/26 for India.

In reply, India managed just 17/2 runs in 6 overs. Rohit Sharma got out for a duck, while Virat Kohli made 3 runs as Proteas bowlers dominated the proceedings with the new ball. When it looked like the game is in balance, KL Rahul (51) and Suryakumar Yadav (50) joined forces to help the team reach the target comfortably to take an early 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Speaking on the disappointing loss in the post-match presentation, Bavuma said the batters failed to adapt to the conditions which were favourable for the pacers.

"As a batting unit we failed to apply ourselves in those conditions. We didn't expect the pitch to play this way. Yes we expected it to be spicy but normally you will be able to hit through the line in this part of the world," 

South Africa pacers Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Wayne Parnell used the bounce on the pitch and movement in the air to make the Indian batters’ life difficult, but despite bowling their best the Proteas bowlers failed to defend a below-par total of 107. Bavuma praised his bowlers for giving their efforts with the ball and highlighted the positive from the game.

"Seamers needed runs behind then to defend. They tried their best and supported by spinners as well. I thought we fought well late with the bat. That's a positive."


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