Skipper Temba Bavuma asserted that he was loss for words after South Africa made another semifinal exit from the ODI World Cup. It was a low-scoring thriller at Eden Gardens where South Africa batters’ dismal show led to their exit from the tournament as Australia held their nerves and won the match by three wickets.
South Africa played quality cricket throughout the tournament and also put up a fight with the ball in the semi-final but it was not enough for them to break the semifinal jinx.
Bavuma was disappointed after his team’s exit but he was gracious enough to congratulate Australia for their resilient show at Eden Gardens.
“Cannot put it into words, first of all congratulations to Australia. Good luck to them in the final. They played really well today,” Bavuma said in the post-match presentation.
The Proteas skipper was impressed with his team’s fightback in the end but admitted that the start with both bat and ball cost them the match.
“Our character came through today. We showed a lot of resilience. The way we started with the bat and the ball was the telling point, that’s where we lost the game,” he added.
The 33-year-old talked highly of the Australia pacers who took advantage of the overcast conditions and picked early wickets.
“The conditions combined with the quality of their attack, they really put us under pressure. You’re always going to struggle to put up a competitive total when you’re 24/4,” he added.
The skipper also hailed David Miller for his 101-run knock under pressure which helped South Africa crossed the 200-run mark.
“We were gaining some momentum when Miller and Klaasen were out there but unfortunately he (Klaasen) couldn’t carry on a bit longer. Miller’s innings was superb, really highlights the character of the entire team, it was extraordinary to do that in such a pressure situation and in a World Cup semi-final,” he added.
Talking about the bowling unit, Bavuma suggested that Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj did put some pressure on the Aussie batters despite their flying start but he was a bit disappointed with the fielding.
“They got 70-odd in the first 10 and that really allowed the rest of the guys to settle. Markram and Maharaj were fantastic and they really put them under pressure,” he said.
“We had chances, tough chances that we put down, it could’ve been a bit close had we held on to them,” he added.
Bavuma was all impressed with Gerald Coetzee for his impressive bowling throughout the tournament, he also claimed crucial wickets of Steve Smith and Josh Inglis in the semifinal.
“As a young guy, he (Coetzee) really was the warrior for us, there wasn’t much happening for the seamers then but for him to come round the wicket and to take the wicket of Smith was incredible. He was cramping but he still wanted to keep bowling,” he said.
Meanwhile, it turned out to be Quinton de Kock’s last ODI game as Bavuma called him one of the legends in South African cricket.
“Quinton would’ve probably wanted to end his career on a different note, despite the result I think he’ll remember his time. He’ll go down as one of the legends in South African cricket,” he concluded.
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