Reeza Hendricks says the South African A side will have to improve in all departments if they want to bounce back against India A in their second triangular match on Sunday.

South Africa A kicked off their tour of India with a nine-wicket defeat to Australia A in the first match of the triangular series in Chennai on Wednesday.

After winning the toss and batting first, South Africa started well to get to 73-0 before wickets started falling at regular intervals to limit the total to 171 in 48.4 overs.

Usman Khawaja (73 off 82 balls, 9×4) and Joe Burns (63 not out off 91 balls, 6×4, 1×6) shared an opening stand of 142 in 26.2 overs to finish the match as a contest before Burns and Travis Head added an unbroken 33 in 4.4 overs to round off an emphatic victory for Australia.

‘We had a good start and a good partnership upfront, but we didn’t manage to build more partnership in the later stages of our innings,’ Hendricks said.

‘Australia really bowled well, something our bowlers didn’t manage to do. They just ran away with the game when they were batting.’

Hendricks acknowledged that Australia’s spinners played a big role in winning the game for their team.

‘Once their spinners came on the game basically stopped. They bowled really well and made it quite difficult for us to score runs and rotate the strike,’ Hendricks explained.

‘We had a few net sessions before the game, but we didn’t adapt in pressure situations out in the middle as well as we could have.’

Hendricks lamented the poor discipline of the bowlers as South Africa, defending 171, conceded 12 extras, including seven no-balls.

‘That didn’t help at all and it is a concern. We’ll have to improve going into the next game.’

This is an important tour for a few of the SA A players, but especially Hendricks, who is still competing with Stiaan van Zyl for the opening batting spot in the senior Test team.

Considering that South Africa tour India in October and November for an extensive tour including four Tests, Hendricks will know his performances now will carry much weight later on.

‘It’s a great experience for me playing in these conditions, so if I’m selected for the Proteas this experience will help me a lot,’ he said.

Picture: Sivaraman Kitta