IND vs SA: This Is Just A Nice Chapter In Our Continued Journey: Mark Boucher After South Africa Whitewash India 3-0 In ODIs

South Africa head coach Mark Boucher said the ODI series victory against India is a nice chapter of their topsy-turvy journey with the game.

South Africa whitewash India 3-0 in the recent ODI series after a narrow win by four runs on Sunday in Cape Town.

South Africa opener Quinton de Kock smashed a scintillating 124 with Rassie van der Dussen continuing his tremendous form with 52 off 59 balls as the hosts were bowled out for 287.

India seemed to storm back into the game after Deepak Chahar’s gritty knock. The all-rounder hammered 54 from 34 balls, plundering five boundaries and a couple of sixes at the strike rate of 158.82.

Chahar’s fighting knock wasn’t enough as India fell short by four runs in their chase of 288 as the visitors were bowled out for 283.

We spoke about our journey and not worrying about the series: Mark Boucher

South Africa has been rejuvenating as one of the strongest teams like it used to be in its early days under the leadership of Temba Bavuma.

Boucher acknowledged the tough times the Proteas have been through and appreciated the team for the massive turnaround.

“We spoke about our journey and not worrying about the series,” Boucher said at a virtual press conference on Sunday.

“We wanted to win 3-0. We’ve been through the hard times and only once you’ve been through the hard times do you really appreciate the good ones.

“We appreciate this, but our feet are firmly planted on the ground. This is just a nice chapter in our continued journey. We have a captain in Tembs (Temba Bavuma) that is really demanding on results and that’s good,” he added.

It was great to see Quinton de Kock come out: Mark Boucher

Quinton de Kock hit 124 runs from 130 balls to bring his sixth ODI century against India. He smashed 12 fours and a couple of sixes to resurrect his side’s innings after Indian bowlers led by Deepak Chahar caused some early damage.

South Africa were 70 for three wickets down as De Kock aligned forces with Rassie van der Dussen. The duo combined for a top-notch stand of 144 before they were separated by Jasprit Bumrah.

Boucher applauded Quinton de Kock for getting back into his form and playing with a free mindset.

“It was great to see him come out and play the way that we all know Quinny can play; the way that he has been when he’s at his best. He’s got that sort of freedom about his game,” he mentioned.

“You can’t have all six of your batters play like that, but you can certainly have one or two. On their day, if they score a hundred, more often than not they’re going to win you a game,” he added.

De Kock, who amassed 229 runs to end up as the highest run-scorer of the ODI series, was adjudged as the player of the series.

Also Read: IND vs SA: I Like Scoring Against Everyone, Not Just India – Quinton de Kock