‘Today, we didn’t play our best cricket,’ – Temba Bavuma.
THE PROTEAS had Pakistan on the ropes early in their T20 World Cup Group 2 match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday, but they dropped the ball to go down by 33 runs thanks to the Duckworth/Lewis system.
Needing a win to book their place in the final four, South Africa now have to wait until Sunday when they face the Netherlands in a must-win match at 2am in Adelaide to confirm a final-four place.
The defeat has left the Proteas second to India, who play Zimbabwe at 10am on Sunday, in the group, with Pakistan, who face Bangladesh earlier at 6am, one point behind and breathing down their necks.
A slip-up against the Dutch, or even if the match washes out, could see the Proteas on the next flight home.
Their situation should have been much different though after Thursday’s match.
🚨 RESULT | PAKISTAN WIN BY 33 RUNS
It proved to be too steep of a task after the resumption of play as we taste defeat for the first time in the #T20WorldCup#PAKvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/2HTySBiOdG
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 3, 2022
With Pakistan on 41/4 after choosing to bat first, SA then produced a dismal fielding display as rain made for a slippery ball and surface.
Captain Temba Bavuma explains: “The mistakes that we made are not the kind of mistakes you want to make at this level. It’s definitely not the standard of fielding we pride ourselves on.”
Pakistan cashed in, as Shadab Khan smashed 52 off 22 balls and Iftikhar Ahmed 51 off 35 to take them to 185/9.
SA lost early wickets in their reply, with Quinton de Kock (0) and Rilee Rossouw (7) flopping.
But Bavuma (36 off 19) and Aiden Markram (20 off 14) rebuilt their innings, before both lost their wickets to Man of the Match Khan (2/16).
At 69/4 in the ninth over, rain forced the players off and when they returned South Africa needed 73 runs off 31 balls.
They could only get to 108/9 – still 33 runs short of the winning target.
And Bavuma adds: “This is probably a bit of a wake-up call [for us] …
“It’s about us playing our best cricket from now on. Today, we didn’t play our best cricket.”
