LISTEN: Proteas urgently need to find another way, says JP Duminy
The continued struggles against India's spinners has exposed huge chinks in South Africa's batting armour.
JP Duminy. (Photo by Shaun Roy/Gallo Images)
They might not be quite pulling their weight on the field but at least it seems the Proteas’ senior players hold themselves accountable for the team’s woes in the ODI series against India.
South Africa crashed to a 124-run loss to the visitors at Newlands on Wednesday night, meaning the 3-0 deficit in the six-match series can’t be overturned anymore.
Disturbingly, the hosts once again were undone by the wizardry of the Indian wrist spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who took eight wickets between them.
“We haven’t picked the wrong ‘uns and when you are not picking their wrong un’s, you are not necessarily going to comfortable at the crease so you are always going to be a little bit tentative,” said Duminy, who made 51 but couldn’t build on the platform he laid.
“Once you become comfortable with picking their deliveries, that’s when you can play with confidence, with ease, with freedom. We need to find a way to get that right.”
But that’s not necessarily the root cause of the Proteas’ problems.
“They’ve assessed conditions better than us. They’ve bowled a touch slower than our spinners. They haven’t bowled the ball full enough for us to get to the ball, to hit down the ground. That’s where we have been successful in South African conditions, and they haven’t allowed that,” said Duminy.
“Yes, we have game plans and they’ve bowled well enough not to give us the balls to play in our game plan. We’ve got to come up with different ways of countering how good they’ve been.”
The experienced left-hander, who bowled a decent spell of off-spin to take 2/60 in his 10 overs, bemoaned getting out at a vital stage of the innings.
“We haven’t had the opportunity to put together partnerships. The only standout performance was Faf’s in the first game. As a batting unit we’ve got to make sure we are better. We’ve got take it on the chin and take responsibility and know we are better than that.”
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