Player of the Match Rassie van der Dussen praised batting partner Reeza Hendricks after the pair shared a second-wicket stand of 116 runs off 77 balls in the series-clinching second T20I against Sri Lanka at SuperSport Park.
‘Reeza played brilliantly,’ said Van der Dussen. ‘We have played a lot of our cricket together so we understand each other well. We complement each others’ strengths. He scores in different areas than I do, so for a bowler it’s always tough. Very satisfied with the summer, making my debut was a dream come true.’
With the World Cup the hot topic of conversation, Van der Dussen stressed that he was focused on short-term challenges rather than looking ahead to England.
‘I am trying to take it a game at a time and be my best every ball. I’ve worked very hard, so I want to take all opportunities,’ said Van der Dussen.
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Stand-in skipper JP Duminy added that the win was satisfying for him as captain.
‘It is always good to get a series win under the belt. There are a few areas we can brush up on, but all-in-all it was a good performance tonight,’ said Duminy.
‘In T20 cricket partnerships are undervalued and that 100-run partnership set up the game for us. That first over (by Steyn) was quality. He’s a match-winner and he’s always going to give you something in the powerplay. And to follow it with Chris Morris, we got four-five wickets up front.’
Duminy also offered praise to Isuru Udana for his ‘great innings’, adding that the Proteas are looking to keep the pressure up on Sri Lanka to end the series on a high.
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‘I think our bowling did well, but two-three overs they got big runs. It was such a good wicket, 170-175 was a gettable target, but we gave away 10 runs extra,’ said Sri Lanka skipper Lasith Malinga. ‘But still when someone like Isuru is there, you never know.’
Malinga expressed his frustration at the Sri Lanka top order for their failure to contribute to the run chase, before adding that he is looking to finish his career at next year’s ICC T20 World Cup.
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images
