South Africa will gain a “hell of lot of confidence” if they manage to beat India in the upcoming three-match ODI series in home conditions, feels Proteas white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma. The last time India came to South Africa in 2018, they won the six-match series 5-1. It was also their first-ever ODI series win in the Rainbow Nation.
“We will have to get things right in the next ODI series against India. I’m not too worried about what happened in that 2018 series. I’m more concerned about establishing our own style of play and implementing our strategy to good effect.
“An ODI series win against India would give us a helluva lot of confidence, and some momentum ahead of the games to follow,” Bavuma was quoted as saying by ‘Daily Maverick’.
Bavuma, who was a part of the Proteas’ triumphant campaign in the just-concluded three-match Test series, feels their campaign in the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup helped change the perception about South Africa’s white-ball squads.
“Perceptions are changing about this South African white-ball team. In the past, it was said that we lacked the ability to take on spin and that we struggled in overseas conditions. I feel like we proved a lot of people wrong at the T20 World Cup.
“We’ve just got to keep building towards that next T20 World Cup in Australia, which will require another shift in mindset.”
“Perhaps we should take heart from what the T20 side has accomplished in recent times. That team didn’t place much emphasis on results, but rather on the process.
“We really came to grips with how we wanted to play. There was a lot of energy and intensity, especially with regard to our fielding,” he said.
“Then we start to win consistently. Since the beginning of the West Indies series last June, we’ve won 13 out of 16 T20s. It’s something we want to replicate across the formats. If we bring the same energy to our ODI approach, we will build more confidence and momentum, and the big results will come.”
