South African skipper Temba Bavuma admitted they were not able to adapt after a huge loss of 243 runs against India in the ongoing World Cup 2023 at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. India posted an above-par score of 326 runs on the board after Rohit Sharma decided to bat.
The two best teams in the standings were up against one another but there was no contest at all as the Proteas were skittled out for a meager score of 83 runs as they lost wickets at regular intervals.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma once again gave a quick start to his team as he took the attack against the South African fast bowlers. Rohit scored 24-ball 40 and India posted 91-1 in the first 10 overs to put themselves in front.
But, the going was not so easy against the spinners on a pitch, which was aiding turn. However, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer showed all the maturity in their strokeplay despite them not getting quick runs in the middle.
Kohli went on to score an unbeaten knock of 101 runs, which was his 49th ODI century to match legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record. Furthermore, Iyer scored a crucial knock of 77 runs and he added 134 runs with Virat Kohli. Moreover, Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja added the finishing touches as they scored 22 and 29 runs respectively to India past the 320-run mark.
On the other hand, no South African batter could even go past the 14-run mark as they crumbled like a pack of cards in their batting innings.
Temba Bavuma said in the post-match presentation, “We know it’s a challenge. We have lost chasing. We had had our conversations with our batters. They got 90 in the first 10 overs. We did well after that. Curbed down the run-rate. Sharma kind of set it up. Kohli and Iyer had a good partnership. The wicket played the way we suspected it well. We were not able to adapt unfortunately. Potentially, we might play again here in the semis.”
South Africa will play their last league stage match against Afghanistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Friday.
