Proteas captain Faf du Plessis is happy with the form of his batsmen in Paarl after their struggles in the first two ODIs.
‘It was good to see a few guys getting in and playing some really good innings which is something we would have liked to see a bit more of in the series. Reeza [Hendricks] and Klaasie [Heinrich Klaasen] played really well for us,’ said Du Plessis in the post-match press conference.
‘The bowling was really good in all three games. I was also really happy the way that Imran [Tahir] opened up the innings. It’s something that just adds a different dimension to us as a bowling attack, so I’m very happy that he did that well.’
Asked why he elected to use Tahir to take the new ball with Dale Steyn, Du Plessis said that it was all about adding some firepower to the attack.
‘A lot of guys are so used to facing pace on as the opening pair so from the brains trust thinking it will be to expose that whenever that comes across our path. At least he had the opportunity to try that out before the World Cup. We want Imran to always try and get wickets because the best way to try and stop a team is to take wickets,’ said Du Plessis.
Steyn bowled superbly to take 3-29, and Du Plessis was extremely happy with his good form.
‘Dale has certainly put a peg in the ground to say that he is still very much good enough to play one-day cricket for South Africa and it’s nice for us because the holes are slowly but surely starting to fill up. We need three wicket-taking fast bowlers and we’ve got that in Dale, Lungi [Ngidi] and KG [Kagiso Rabada] and they are very, very different. Dale is still bowling quick but he’s also got his skill factor which is right up there, so we’re very happy with the three of them where they are,’ concluded Du Plessis.
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