Anrich Nortje revealed that the Proteas will not back down from any opponent as they aim for a victory in the second T20I against India on a Wednesday.
The first T20I match between India and South Africa was rained out on Sunday.
That meant Anrich Nortje had to wait a little longer to finally make his T20I debut.
In an interview on Wednesday, Nortje expressed his views about getting the call-up for the India series.
“I haven’t been too excited. I’ve learnt to take the excitement just down a notch. I was also selected in the Sri Lanka series for the T20I squad and then I got injured, so I just wait for that moment to come before getting too excited,” said Nortje on Tuesday.
“But the build-up has been really good, I’ve enjoyed working with everyone and chatting around to everyone especially with the bowlers as a unit. There’s quite a bit of excitement to just get out there and start playing again.”
The 25-year-old highlighted the importance of having the senior guys around them, to help them understand what to expect in Indian conditions.
“It’s been great to have guys like Rabada around, he obviously has a lot of experience in India. So, just to try and get into his mind, what his thought patterns are and how he goes about things has been good,” he added.
“We haven’t been too technical but just getting the thoughts of the rest of the bowlers in the group, Beuran also has been here a few times, so it’s just nice to get some feedback from those guys.
“They’ve played at most of the venues, so to understand the conditions that we’re going to face, I think that’s very nice to hear from the guys.”
With only two matches left in the series, the Proteas will have to win both matches if they are to win the series. So, it will be crucial for this young side to start with a win in tomorrow’s T20I.
“We said from the start we want to throw the first punch and we’re not going to back down from anyone. I don’t think anything has changed,” said Nortje.
“The guys have been very relaxed when we had that opportunity. But also we’ve been very busy, very hard working at times. I think there’s a good balance it’s not just one sided. I think in general, guys are just excited to get out there and play again.”
The Indian fans always fill-up the stadiums to support their team, it will be interesting to see how the South African youngsters will react to this extra pressure.
“Even the rained-out game, they were making such a loud noise which is unbelievable,” he continued.
“It’s such a great atmosphere. I was disappointed not to go out there and play. I’m really looking forward and hopefully it can be even better over here.” Anrich went on to explain how they are preparing for this strong Indian T20I squad.
“We’ve been focusing on our skills, our strengths and what we want to do. We’re not too worried about what they going to produce on the day, obviously that’s on the day and we can’t control that, so it’s just to control the controllable and just to go out there and do what we do best. I think that’s the only way to go about it.”
Temba Bavuma, George Linde and Bjorn Fortuin will also be hoping to make their T20I debuts in this series.