South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma conceded that the team doesn’t have a blueprint when it comes to chasing after their nervy one wicket win over Pakistan in ODI World Cup 2023. This was the second time in six games South Africa were chasing and despite being 235/5 with about 14 overs left in chase of 271, they just about managed to get over the line. Notably, they had lost their previous game chasing to Netherlands by 38 runs.

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Speaking after the game, Bavuma said: “It was a nail-biting finish. Obviously, if you are a South African fan, you’re a little bit happier at the outcome.

“We can’t say with conviction that we do have the blueprint when we are chasing. We’re going to get into this situation again, that I do know, and we obviously want to show a lot more of a clinical display with the bat.

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“With the batting, there’s obviously been pressure with us chasing, and we haven’t done well to rectify that. We’ll obviously have conversations, but it will be easier now to have those conversations with the win. But it was due to our doing that we allowed the game to get to that point.”

“It’s something that we’ve spoken about, it’s obviously something that has been thrown about,” he added. 

South Africa now sit at the top of the points table with five wins in six games and they have won four of those games while batting first. The Proteas have been sensational while setting the target, cross 300 each time and 400+ once when batting first.

“We obviously have a blueprint when batting first, and we’ve shown that in terms of the scores we have been able to post,” added Bavuma.

Against Pakistan, SA lost four wickets for just 25 runs and five for 54 before Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi held their nerve and took their team home. Bavuma said that the guys in the pressure situation would need to speak up in team meetings.

“The guys who were there in the pressure situations [would need to] truly speak out as to what they were thinking in terms of emotions, in terms of their game-plans,” Bavuma added. 

The Proteas are well placed to make it to the top four and despite their two out next three games being against New Zealand and India. 

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