Home
Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar warned Team India of the threat that South Africa pose with the bat ahead of the second ODI of the series. Though the Men in Blue won the first game by a 17-run margin, Gavaskar was left impressed with the fight that the Proteas showed during the game. He advised KL Rahul & Co. to not be complacent as the opposition do have the quality to win matches from tough situations.
"South Africa's fightback was fantastic to watch. Right till the end, till the last over, it was a question of touch and go, and you have got to admire the way that despite them being in dire straits, three wickets down for 11 runs. The way they have fought back, India better watch out for the next two games," Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
South Africa batters' impressive display
These comments come after South Africa had showed incredible grit in the batting department against India in the first ODI. After getting restricted to 11/3 at one stage, the team fought back strongly as the likes of Matthew Breetzke, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch all slammed half-centuries while both Tony de Zorzi and Dewald Brevis played impactful cameos of 39 and 37 respectively.
Though these knocks didn't prove to be enough on the day and South Africa ended up falling short of the 350-run target by a whisker, it was nothing short of a superb batting effort by the visitors as they almost pulled off an unbelievable victory despite losing their top-order within the first five overs of their innings.
Action to move to Raipur
Meanwhile, India will have a chance of sealing the series in the second ODI against South Africa that will be held in Raipur on December 3. The Men in Blue have only played a single one-day match at the venue so far and they did so in 2023 against New Zealand. They had come out victorious by 8 wickets and thus, have a 100% win record at the stadium so far. It remains to be seen if they will be able to maintain that record in the upcoming game against the Proteas.
ADVERTISEMENT
