Ken Borland

South Africa’s batsmen were not able to produce the goods under pressure, being bundled out for just 99 in the decisive third ODI against India on Tuesday in Delhi, a seven-wicket thrashing with 30.5 overs to spare not being the send-off the Proteas would have wanted as they now head to the T20 World Cup in Australia.

It’s not as if the pitch looked like the surface of the moon and provided extravagant turn or was a green mamba that seamed around, but South Africa’s batsmen still found a way to be bundled out in a miserable 27.1 overs.

Much credit must go to a superb Indian attack that barely erred in terms of line and length, and thoroughly exploited the reasonable assistance on offer from a pitch that provided a good contest between bat and ball.

Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, as he often has been against the Proteas, was the most successful of the Indian bowlers as he raked in 4/18 in just 4.1 overs. But the left-armer only joined the attack in the 20^th over, when South Africa were already deep in the mire on 71/6.

Having been sent in to bat, off-spinner Washington Sundar (4-0-15-2) made the initial strike, bowling wonderfully well around the wicket to the left-hander Quinton de Kock and removing him in the third over for just six.

A double strike by paceman Mohammed Siraj (5-0-17-2), removing Janneman Malan (15) and Reeza Hendricks (3), reduced South Africa to 26/3 in the powerplay.

The introduction of more spin brought even more pain for the Proteas as orthodox left-armer Shahbaz Ahmed claimed two wickets and deciphering Kuldeep was out-of-reach for the bowlers.

Heinrich Klaasen battled on for the Proteas, scoring 34 off 42 balls, before he was undone on the back foot – like many of his colleagues – and bowled by Shahbaz.

Marco Jansen was the last man out for 14 as South Africa were left on their lowest ever ODI score against India, and their second-worst first-innings effort in all ODIs, only their 83 all out against England in 2008 being lower.

The Proteas’ focus is clearly on the T20 World Cup and giving players game time, with Temba Bavuma and Tabraiz Shamsi again sitting out as they continue to recover from illness. Keshav Maharaj has now caught the bug and he sat out Tuesday’s game, David Miller captaining the ODI side for the first time. It is also the first time in ODI history that three different captains have been used in a three-match series.

Lungi Ngidi, Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo were brought in for the decisive third ODI.

India’s top-order made the same pitch look like a road as they raced to their meagre target in 19.1 overs.

Shubnam Gill led the way with 49 off 57 balls, while Shreyas Iyer finished with 28 not out from 23 deliveries.

The Proteas play their final game on Tuesday before heading off to Australia for the T20 World Cup, the deciding match in their ODI series in India, and surely Reeza Hendricks must now be a part of every white-ball game for at least the next month?

Hendricks belatedly played his first match in India at the weekend, brought into the XI because regular captain Temba Bavuma was ill, and looked pure class he stroked 74 off 76 balls on a tricky, low-and-slow pitch in Ranchi.

It means Hendricks has now scored 370 runs in his last six innings for South Africa, dating back to July. That is the sort of form that it would be criminal to waste, especially for a batting line-up that has had some horror collapses of late.

Because Hendricks is in the T20 World Cup squad but Janneman Malan is not, one would expect Malan to be the player who makes way on Tuesday if Bavuma is fit to play again. Although Malan’s overall career ODI stats are still superb, in his last 12 innings, he averages just 24.83 at a strike-rate of only 69.95.

Of course, Hendricks should also be in the XI at the T20 World Cup, but he would have to replace captain Bavuma. But if ever there was a good argument for leaving out the appointed skipper, the difference in confidence and output that Hendricks would bring has to be it.

While Bavuma’s position is the major talking point heading into the World Cup, the form of spinner Tabraiz Shamsi is also concerning. Sixteen months ago he was first on the T20 bowling rankings, but his performances have been on the slide in India.

It has never been his favourite place to play, and India’s ruthless aggression towards him has made his life difficult, knocking his confidence.

Hopefully he will be out of this weirdly erratic phase in Australia, because he plays an important role in South Africa’s T20 team. Shamsi was also ill over the weekend and his wicket-taking ability in the middle overs was missed by the Proteas in the second ODI, as Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer belted their way to victory by seven wickets with 25 balls to spare.

Oh boy, have the Proteas selectors got themselves into a pickle just weeks before the T20 World Cup in Australia!

But their troubles, to be fair, should be traced back to March 2021 when Graeme Smith, then director of cricket, appointed Temba Bavuma as South Africa’s limited-overs captain, replacing Quinton de Kock.

The appointment made sense at a lot of levels, but there was one concern even back then: Would Bavuma be worth his place as a batsman in the T20 side?

Since becoming captain, Bavuma has had some rotten luck with injuries and has played just 19 of South Africa’s 32 T20 Internationals. And his performances with the bat have been underwhelming – just 313 runs, including only one half-century, and an average of 19.56 and a strike-rate of 107.93.

And now, in India, it has looked like men versus boys as, in the two T20 series the Proteas have played there this year, in June and now, he has scored just 61 runs off 70 balls in six innings.

While such a lean run of form could be overlooked if the captain had previous pedigree in the format at international level, or there was a lack of a viable alternative, everything points to the obvious call being to replace Bavuma with Reeza Hendricks, who has been in red-hot form. But who is going to be brave enough to make that call, given Bavuma’s standing as a role-model of Black African excellence?

Hendricks has taken great delight in proving all his critics wrong of late, scoring 736 runs in 22 innings since the start of 2021, at an average of 35.04 and a strike-rate of 131.89. The elegant right-hander has scored four half-centuries and a 42 in his last five innings.

Surely that is the sort of form that cannot be ignored when the shaky Proteas top-order is constantly teetering on the verge of collapse?

Coach Mark Boucher has put himself firmly in Bavuma’s corner, but given that he will be leaving his job straight after the T20 World Cup, perhaps he is the man to make the tough call because the consequences and fallout won’t mean much to him sitting in Mumbai preparing for his new IPL job.

One worries that all this negative attention could also affect Bavuma’s batting in ODIs and Tests, where he is very much one of the kingpins of the side.

Temba Bavuma says he wants to park the bitter disappointment of not being bought for the SA20 franchise tournament for now as he looks ahead to the tour of India and then the T20 World Cup in Australia straight afterwards, but there is no doubting the Proteas captain feels like he has been ditched on Lovers’ Lane.

Bavuma, captain of the national T20 side, failed to draw a single bid in this week’s auction, despite being put up for sale three times, and will now not be a part of the most important T20 tournament this country has hosted. The 32-year-old suffered the same fate as fellow Proteas white-ball stalwart Andile Phehlukwayo.

“I would be lying if I said there wasn’t disappointment and obviously I expected to play a role in the SA20. And it’s not just myself but Andi as well, he has played for several years for South Africa in white-ball cricket.

“I feel almost let down. This is not coming from a place of entitlement though and you want to be selected on merit or whatever credentials you have.

“I also need to caution myself not to delve too deeply into it, even though I would like to think about it more. It’s not the right time now, my focus is on the India tour and the World Cup afterwards.

“It is comforting that some people share the same sentiments as me, but the biggest thing for me is to serve the team the best I can, I still have a big responsibility as captain,” Bavuma said on Thursday, sounding like someone who needed to be in hospital.

Setbacks have generally brought out the best of the feisty, determined Bavuma in the past and he’s not one for cussing and moaning in a dark corner. Coach Mark Boucher said the team ensured the captain knew he had their support when the squad had a get-together before their departure for India on Friday – “Temba is our leader, we back him 100% and you could see the energy around him, the guys understand the situation he is going through.”

“There are things I need to deal with on a personal level, but I’m not going to sit here and say I need to prove anything,” Bavuma said. “We had some team-building last night and it was nice to see the guys.

“We have friendships and relationships that go far beyond just being team-mates and knowing that they are there as my team-mates is enough, their presence is enough.

“I don’t expect words of sympathy, let’s rather go out there and create some memories. I’ve been out injured for three months so I’m looking forward to getting out on the park again,” Bavuma said.