“Quite disappointing for us to not get over the line,” said Proteas batsman, Rassie van der Dussen, after a nail-biting finish to the first ODI between South Africa and Pakistan at SuperSport Park, which Pakistan won by three wickets.
Van der Dussen conceded, “Sometimes guys make mistakes in assessing those conditions,” after South Africa were reduced to 55/4 at the 14 over mark, losing Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, and Heinrich Klaasen early. “The pitch was difficult,” van der Dussen explained, and “got more true and consistent” as the game went on.
Crediting the bowlers for bringing South Africa back into the game, van der Dussen said, “The bowlers fought brilliantly.” “The way Anrich came in and took those wickets was really positive,” van der Dussen continued.
Effusive in his praise for Proteas skipper, Temba Bavuma, van der Dussen said, “He’s a brilliant captain and leader. He gets the best out of his players. The way we fought today shows the fighting spirit in the team.”
Van der Dussen clarified that the plan for the batting group was to bat positively. “We give the batters freedom to express themselves, especially in the powerplay,” he said. However, “Losing three wickets in a cluster is something we don’t want to do.”
Scoring his first international hundred under pressure, van der Dussen described it as “a relief.” “Fair innings to get us to a competitive total,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistani batsman, Imam ul-Haq joked about Pakistan’s proclivity for batting collapses saying, “We were just trying to entertain everyone in these COVID times.”
With most of the Pakistani team playing ODI cricket after a while, Imam said there was an emphasis in the team on set batsmen striving to finish games off for the team.
