Ken Borland

One would think making back-to-back ducks would be enough to appal any batter, but Rilee Rossouw said he brushed them off before his emphatic unbeaten century in response in the third T20 against India at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.

And while Proteas fans may be greatly dismayed by the poor form of Temba Bavuma, Rossouw says the team are fully behind their captain and they have no doubts about his value to the side.

Rossouw of course has had previous experience of making ducks for South Africa, getting zero in four of his first six ODI innings, and yet he still went on to average 38 at a strike-rate of 94 in the format.

“As a professional sportsman, you’re going to have bad times, so you need to back yourself and believe in your ability,” Rossouw said after his 100 not out off just 48 balls decimated India.

“It doesn’t matter what your form is, you still need confidence. Form and confidence are two different things. And I really believe in my ability, I’ve showcased it around the world.

“It’s never about form for me, I have confidence in my ability and in my game. And I thank the coaches and selectors for backing me.

“If someone has a good day, then they can carry the weight of someone who is struggling for form. It’s the same with Temba, as a team we really, really back him, we will be there for him and every professional goes through what he is at the moment. But with his ability, he could be in the form of his life at the World Cup,” Rossouw said.

Rossouw credited another man who has been struggling for form recently, before notching back-to-back half-centuries, for getting him going in Indore.

“There was one shot that Quinton de Kock played that really got me in the mood – when he stepped across outside off-stump in the third over and whipped Deepak Chahar for six. That got my momentum going and it’s great to see him playing like that before a big tournament.”

The ball was also regularly coming off the sweet spot just below the chevron of Rossouw’s bat-sticker from early on in his innings, as he hit his fourth and fifth deliveries for fours. The left-hander hit sixes in the next two overs, and his third six took him to 30 off 15 balls. Rossouw went to his fifty off 27 deliveries, 30 of those runs coming from shots over the boundary, and he needed just 21 more balls to raise his first T20 International century, which included seven fours and eight sixes.

By focusing on playing the swinging ball and getting all aspects of their game to click together, Rossouw said the Proteas now head to the T20 World Cup with the confidence of a fine victory under their belts.

“With bat and ball, we’ve had things to learn in this series. We were shocked by how India swung the ball and we learnt a lot about our bowling in the second game,” Rossouw said.

“But we put it together today, we were outstanding in our batting, bowling and fielding. We played very well and we’re very proud of how we’ve finished the series. We’ll be going to the World Cup with our heads held high.”

Winning a series against India, not just because they are a country of half-a-billion women but also because they are one of cricket’s superpowers, especially on their home turf is a magnificent effort and South African batter Lara Goodall was quite right when she called it a “statement win” after the Proteas clinched a 3-1 series triumph with a game to spare with their seven-wicket win in Lucknow on Sunday.

To clinch victory, South Africa had to mount their highest ever successful run-chase – a daunting 267 was their target – and they did it style with eight balls to spare as the top four of Lizelle Lee (69), Laura Wolvaardt (53), Goodall (59*) and Mignon du Preez (61) all scored half-centuries.

The 24-year-old Goodall, who only returned to the Proteas team this year after being in the international wilderness following South Africa’s hammering on their last visit to India in October 2019, calmly steered them home in the company of veteran Marizanne Kapp (22*).

“It’s been nice to come here and make a statement because the last time we came to India we got clobbered a bit, so we had a point to prove. We knew it would not be easy, there was a lot of uncertainty, but we wanted to show that the batting unit has that belief and it was a massive chase against a world-class team. It showed we are a lot more mature in our game, especially the batting.

“It feels very good to be there at the end with Marizanne, to get us over the line after grafting so hard. We have a world-class opening partnership that we can always rely on with Lizelle and Laura, but we haven’t always backed them up. But the entire top four scoring fifties just shows all the talent and experience that is there. The batting really came to the party today,” Goodall said.

This was no mundane triumph and no-one would blame the Proteas for celebrating into Monday, especially since the fifth and final ODI is only on Wednesday.

“We’re definitely going to enjoy this one and we owe the win to the backing of the coaches and to ourselves for what happened last time we were here and we were down and out. Personally it put me out of the international game for a while, but I worked very hard in Lockdown. Two years ago I wasn’t sure how to play spin, what my options were.

“But having been a bit half-hearted about it, I looked at myself deeply and I knew I had to improve a lot if I wanted to have a regular place in this team. I want to keep my spot in the middle-order and it just required a mental shift. I’ve always had the shots and the ability, but there was some sort of disconnect whenever I had to go out into the middle,” Goodall admitted.