Although he missed out on his half-century, there was a lot to appreciate about Kyle Verreynne’s 48 on debut, a performance he too was satisfied with, writes Khalid Mohidin.

The performance was inspiring, At least that was my view on it.

Kyle has told me before that when there is a flurry of wickets and he comes into the attack after a top-order collapse, that he doesn’t see it as pressure, because at that moment everyone expects you to fail which takes the pressure off him. He has done the recovery job so many times for the Cobras, and on Saturday on a scorching day in Paarl, he did it once again in the green and gold.

He scored 48 off 64 balls to resurrect the Proteas’ innings and bring them back into the clash. His running between the wickets was exquisite and shifted the momentum back in the Proteas’ favour. But it all ended with an unnecessary pull shot to square leg. There was a collective groan and a hush around the stadium when he fell two runs from the half-century mark.

For me, Kyle proved that he is worthy of the recognition and that he can handle the pressures of international cricket. Especially with his incredible work in the field.

“Ya, it was obviously nice to make my debut and something I always dreamt of – playing for South Africa,” said Verreynne on Monday.

“So it was a very special day. it was nice to be on the winnings side in my first game. Obviously I would have loved to get to the fifty but I think if you told me the day before or that morning that I was going to get 48 I would have probably taken it with both hands.

“In hindsight, I’m a bit disappointed, but I’m still very happy with the performance.”

The selectors and the coaching staff obviously liked what they witnessed on Saturday because, after just one game, they have stuck with their decision to keep him in the squad by selecting him for the short outbound India tour.

However, first up, will be the second ODI against Australia in Bloemfontein on Wednesday which I believe he deserves to be selected for.

READ: George Linde receives maiden ODI call-up

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