Last Update on: November 10th, 2023 at 11:03 pm
South Africa National Cricket Team captain Temba Bavuma provided an update on his fitness after the victory over Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan National Cricket Team in the 42nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Friday, November 10 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first in the match. They were able to post a challenging total of 244 runs on the board. The top performer for the side was all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, who batted exceptionally well against the strong Proteas bowling unit. Omarzai, however, was extremely unlucky as he wasn’t able to complete his century. The all-rounder was left unbeaten at the score of 97 off 107 balls.
For South Africa, the right-arm pacer Gerald Coetzee was the top performer as he bagged a 4-wicket haul. Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi picked two wickets each while Andile Phehlukwayo got one wicket. Chasing the target, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma provided the side with a good start and after that, Rassie van der Dussen (76) batted brilliantly to steer his side to a 5-wicket win.
My leg is sore, don’t know to what extent, it’s gonna have to be fine – Temba Bavuma
The Proteas captain Temba Bavuma faced some issues with his leg during the match against Afghanistan. He was seen hobbling while fielding in the first innings. Also, while batting he looked in extreme discomfort and wasn’t able to run properly.
Speaking after the match, Temba Bavuma said that he doesn’t know the extent of issues in his leg. He said:
“My leg is sore, don’t know to what extent, it’s gonna have to be fine. I had the option of coming off. I wanted to be out there with the guys. Opportunity for me to spend some time out in the middle. That’s what I felt was right at that moment.”
Temba Bavuma added that they will take a lot of confidence heading into the semi-finals after earning a win while chasing. Temba Bavuma also lauded Rassie van der Dussen for his fantastic innings.
“Winning is a habit, we want to take that momentum through. We batted second and to get over the line in that manner, that’s going to put a lot of confidence. Fantastic knock by Rassie who took ownership of the innings and guys batted around him. The wicket got better. We’ll take the win, take the confidence and the momentum that comes with it. We’d like to be playing here again. We have a big hurdle that we have to get over first that is Australia in Kolkata,” Temba Bavuma said.
