South African captain Temba Bavuma hailed the duo of Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller, who both played match-winning knocks against India in the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Thursday.
India posted their highest T20I score against South Africa as they scored 211 runs after Temba Bavuma won the toss and decided to bat first but the Proteas met fire with fire in their batting innings as they won by seven wickets.
South Africa was in a precarious situation as they were 81-3 after 8.4 overs in the run-chase. The Proteas could only manage 25 runs in overs between 6 and 10 and required 126 runs in the last 10 overs.
However, David Miller continued his IPL form as he was able to take the attack on the opposition bowlers from the get-go. Rassie van der Dussen, on the other hand, was striking at run-a-ball in his first 30 balls but his left-handed partner was able to take the pressure off his shoulders.
Miller completed his fifty off just 22 balls whereas Rassie van der Dussen was also able to change gears in the end. The southpaw scored an unbeaten knock of 64 runs off just 31 balls whereas van der Dussen contributed with an undefeated 75 to help the team chase down their highest T20I score.
The pair added 131 runs off just 63 balls as the Indian bowlers failed to put a lid on the scoring rate.
Temba Bavuma said in the post-match presentation, “We expected the wicket to get better as the night went on. Fortunately, the batting came through. Bit tricky to assess the bowling. It was fair considering how good that wicket was. He (Ishan Kishan) made it look very easy. They put us under pressure when our spinners were bowling. Always had a left-right combo that didn’t allow us to settle. proper batting display. David carried his form and was well supported by Rassie.”
He added, “Just need to build from this performance. It was a good wicket, probably we can read the situation a bit better, especially the spinners. I am being overly critical because the pitch was good. We will take that result. We have a lot of belief in Rassie. We have seen him do that time and time again where he kind of starts slowly and then finds a way to bring it back at the end. He is a guy we can see as a finisher in our team. Him partnering with David does make out batting explosive. It was hot but wasn’t so humid. Cut down on some training and make sure everyone is fit.”
The second T20I between India and South Africa will take place at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on Sunday.
