ODI Series Win Over India Will Give South Africa "Lots Of Confidence"- Temba Bavuma

South Africa white-ball captain Temba Bavuma will be hoping that his team carries forward the momentum of the 2-1 Test series win over the Indian team into the upcoming One-day International series as well. South Africa was steamrolled in the white-ball matches the last time India toured in 2018, losing both the ODIs and T20Is.

This time, however, thanks to the ongoing COVID pandemic, Cricket South Africa and The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) were forced the tweak the schedule a bit and only ODI series and Test series were scheduled with the four T20Is to be played later in future.

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’.

Perceptions Are Changing About This South African White-Ball Team: Temba Bavuma

Bavuma had taken over the white-ball reins of the team after a tumultuous time and almost led the Proteas to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021, where they failed to qualify for the playoffs on the basis of net run-rate. South Africa had won four out of their five group matches, only to miss the semi-finals due to their loss in the tournament opener against Australia.

“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,” he said.

“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. 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,” he added.

The first two ODIs will be played in Paarl on January 19 and 21 and the third and final match will be hosted by Cape Town on January 23.

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