Ken Borland

South Africa have not played a completed ODI in four months but captain Temba Bavuma says his team is going to carry the momentum from their Test series win over India into the 50-over matches that start in Paarl on Wednesday.

The Proteas, fielding a second-string side, had a washed out ODI against the Netherlands at the end of November, but before that their last proper action was a 2-1 series loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo at the beginning of September.

But confidence is running high in the Proteas camp after their tremendous Test series triumph over India, in which Bavuma played a key role with his second-innings heroics.

“Momentum is a real thing and in the Wanderers Test we managed to get some,” Bavuma said on Tuesday. “So we will lean on that, although it’s obviously a different format with different skill sets and pressures.

“There’s always going to be pressure, whether we played ODI cricket last month or not. We’re coming up against a very strong outfit and hopefully that inspires us to bring our best cricket.

“We need to make sure we pitch up and do what we need to do. We played a lot of T20 cricket last year and in one-day cricket we accept that there are improvements we need to make.

“This series is the perfect opportunity, against a very strong outfit, to test ourselves and see how our game needs to improve and whether we have the right personnel because the road to the 2023 World Cup has started,” Bavuma said.

In terms of selection, the skipper said the first thing he will look for is bowling options, making it likely that part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram will play. But he will not be opening the batting.

“As captain, I always like as many bowling resources I can get on the bowling front,” Bavuma explained. “You accept that one of your bowlers is not going to hit their straps on the day, and then to have a replacement is a luxury.

“I would like as many bowling options as I can get, considering the balance of the team. But Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan have done well up front, so I don’t see a change there and I come into the picture at No.3.

“But the middle-order is where the real conversation is – do we play another all-rounder at No.6 or a specialist batsman?

“Considering the Paarl conditions – the bounce is lower and more skiddy – we need pace bowlers who can exploit that with the new ball and it’s quite friendly to the slower bowlers,” Bavuma said.

Kagiso Rabada has been released from the team for the series due to high workloads over a sustained period of time and the need for him to recover before the Test tour to New Zealand in February.

Dean Elgar had not had much time to think about his greatest triumph as Proteas captain when he was asked what were the positives, in terms of leadership, that he had taken out of the remarkable series win over India, but he did correctly point out that all 11 players had to be on the same page for them to stage such a dramatic and composed comeback.

Elgar had captained South Africa to a defeat against England at Lord’s in 2017 and victory over Pakistan at the Wanderers in 2019 before being appointed full-time Test captain ahead of the two-match series in the West Indies last June. He has now led the Proteas to five wins and two defeats in his total of seven matches as skipper.

“I still need to reflect on all the good things that happened,” Elgar said. “But my skin is pretty thick when it comes to on-field matters and this team never lied down, they always fought.

“They stayed in the game-plan, never veered off it and that’s a good strength to have. You need to have all 11 guys on the same page and I think I’ve gained some people skills that I lacked before.

“I’m a lot more experienced now, but it’s still something I will work on so that I can use it to the best of my ability as captain. It’s tough sometimes not being able to control anything out there.

“But I’ve had to learn quickly not to show my emotions on camera. I think I’m more calm now and I don’t panic too soon,” Elgar said.

The gutsy left-handed opener said building momentum after the poor display in the first Test at Centurion had been a tough task.

“Momentum is important, you really need it in a tough series and it’s difficult to gain against quality opposition,” Elgar said. “So you need to capitalise when the sniff is there.

“And you also have to make sure you don’t let it slip when you’ve got the momentum. But I thought we played the big moments brilliantly, especially considering we did not have a lot of confidence.

“But we showed India are also humans and they are beatable. There were a few turning points and building up to the second Test we had a tough chat for maybe an hour.

“It helped to get the appreciation for the badge back and chasing 240 at the Wanderers was a massive confidence boost for us,” Elgar said.

“In our minds we will be back in the game if we get Virat Kohli early tomorrow,” Proteas batsman Keegan Petersen admitted on Wednesday after the Indian captain steered his team to 57/2 and a lead of 70 runs at stumps on the second day of the third Test at Newlands.

Having surrendered a 13-run first-innings lead despite Petersen’s defiant career-best innings of 72, South Africa rocked the Indian second innings by removing both openers with just 24 runs on the board. But Kohli (14*) and Cheteshwar Pujara (9*) then steadied the innings. The pair of experienced batsmen shared a first-innings stand of 62, Kohli going on to bat for four-and-a-half hours, scoring 79, and the Proteas know just how important it will be on Thursday morning to nip their current partnership of 33 in the bud.

“We’re a bit behind the eight-ball and these two batsmen have been a bit of a headache for us,” Petersen said. “Virat is one of the best batsmen in the world, he’s shown that time and time again.

“If we can get him early then it will break open the game, in our minds we will be back in it. Taking a few early wickets on Thursday will be key.”

Petersen initially struggled to establish himself in Test cricket, scoring just 76 runs in his first five innings, but he was not helped by having to come to the wicket with less than 10 runs on the board in all those knocks. There was speculation that he should drop down the order in order to ease his passage into the international game, but he has now scored half-centuries in successive Tests in his beloved No.3 position.

“It has been a challenge, the most difficult attack I’ve ever faced, but I like batting at three, I’ve batted there for most of my career,” Petersen said.

“It’s been tough for the openers on the pitches we’ve played on, and Aiden Markram is just going through a rough patch, but he’s a quality batsman who will pull through.

“But if I can make the No.3 position mine, I’d be very happy,” Petersen added.

Scoring 162 runs in his last three innings there suggests he is well on course for that.

India owe numerous debts of gratitude to their captain Virat Kohli, who batted for four-and-a-half hours and wrestled them to 223 all out with his defiant innings of 79, but his conqueror, Kagiso Rabada, said the secret to his and South Africa’s success on the first day of the decisive third Test at Newlands on Tuesday was not coming up with any special plans but rather being relentless in their basics.

Rabada was outstanding in his 50^th Test and actually deserved better than his final figures of 4/73 in 22 overs on Tuesday, such was the quality of his fast bowling. His tussle with Kohli was dazzling at times, and South Africa’s talismanic fast bowler eventually won the day when he had the great batsman caught behind as the penultimate wicket of the innings.

“Kohli batted extremely well and he was very patient with leaving the ball,” Rabada said. “People think we have such wicked plans but it was all about bowling a good line and length, being relentless and resilient.

“I wasn’t going for his pads obviously. I was just trying to get the ball to swing away, that’s where he’s been getting out lately, and the important thing was to just stick at it.

“Bowling very seldom feels perfect, but it was a good day for me. I just tried to be as consistent as possible. Nothing changes, I’m just trying to do the same thing.

“Things went my way today, I feel good about the way I bowled and it was a decent day,” Rabada said with some modesty.

India chose to bat first with dark clouds enveloping the ground and a greenish tinge to the pitch. Armed with the hard, red new ball, Rabada and Duanne Olivier made life hard for them from the outset.

But although there was movement and some steep bounce, Rabada said the Newlands pitch is not exactly poisonous. South Africa, batting under clear blue skies, had reached 17/1 in the eight overs they faced before stumps.

“There’s still quite a bit in the pitch, but it looks a proper Test wicket. Batsmen will have to grind, but the bowlers still have to bowl well. We have no control over conditions, but I don’t think it’s going to get much easier for batsmen tomorrow [Wednesday],” Rabada said.

The 26-year-old, who took his tally to 230 Test wickets, was in his element on Tuesday. His action was liquid smooth, his accuracy superb and the ball was talking.

India have a couple of mean fast bowlers of their own though, and South Africa’s batting line-up are going to have to support their bowlers now and do well as a unit.