T20 World Cup 2021: Quinton de Kock's Controversy Was At The Back Of My Mind - Temba Bavuma

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma revealed that the team had a lot going on at the back of their minds during their match against Sri Lanka on Saturday. Quinton de Kock’s stance against taking the knee had become quite a controversy in the days leading up to the game.

Bavuma said that the game also ended up getting tense at the end, which piled on the pressure. Fortunately for South Africa, they were able to rely on David Miller‘s heroics with the bat at the fag end of the innings to close out the game and pocked the two points.

“It’s quite hard to put everything that’s happened over the last couple of days. There was a bit of it at the back of the mind but we had a job to do and we had to dig deep. I was a bit tense,” Bavuma stated at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Miller hadn’t done it in a long time, credit to him – Temba Bavuma

Temba Bavuma also praised middle-order batsman, Miller, for taking the side past the finishing line in style. The last over bowled by Lahiru Kumara fetched 18 runs, with Miller striking two massive sixes, which was enough to hand the Proteas their second win on the bounce.

“He (Miller) hadn’t done in a long time for us, credit to him. He’s got one of the most beautiful swings, like a golf swing. I took on the responsibility to finish it off and the wicket wasn’t an easy one but someone had to take it till the end. The shot was on and I was a bit irritated with myself that I wasn’t able to execute,” Bavuma added.

Notably, Tabraiz Shamsi earned the Man of the Match award for his stellar figures of 3/17 in four overs during Sri Lankan innings.

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