Proteas allrounder Corbin Bosch believes they have enough in their arsenal to give Pakistan a good run for their money in the remainder of the ODI series in Faisalabad over the next few days.
Pakistan appeared to be coasting to victory in the opening match at the same venue on Tuesday.
A combination of possible Pakistani complacency and real South African determination brought the visitors back into the game.
Pakistan still managed to get over the line by two wickets and with two balls to spare, but they would have felt the pressure of perhaps losing the match from a position of strength.
At the post-match media conference, Bosch was asked by a local reporter if he thought SA was “missing some serious winners or some other faces”.
He was referring to the likes of Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Temba Bavuma and Marco Jansen not being with the squad.
SA handed debuts to Donovan Ferreira, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Sinethemba Qeshile.
Bosch was firm in his reply.
“I think we have an incredible team here,” Bosch said.
“We’ve got fantastic bowlers. We have world-class players that have played all over the world.
“I think all the guys are working hard. And we’re not far away from putting up a really, really good performance as a bowling unit.
“We have top-class spinners. We have top-class seamers. And we have top-class batters.
“We’re not far off from really giving Pakistan a good run.”
The remaining matches of the series will be played on Thursday and Saturday, and SA will be determined to bounce back with a couple of wins.
They have now lost three consecutive white-ball matches to Pakistan following defeats in the last two games of the T20 series.
“I think we’re going to approach the next two games as a must-win,” Bosch said.
“We came here to win this series. And I think that’s what we’re going to strive to do.
“And we’ll make sure that we’re on it in the next game so that we can really win this ODI series.”
Though he wasn’t saying it, Bosch was definitely “on it” in Tuesday’s loss.
He hit six fours in his 41 off 40 balls at the death to ensure the team moved past the 260 mark.
He then took two for 32 and bowled superbly to help take the match into the final over.
“It probably was not even a 300 wicket. I think 280 would have been more than enough,” Bosch said.
“We bowled beautifully. I think in the middle stages, we let too many boundary balls, myself included.
“But I think we weren’t too far off from winning the game today, only making 260.”
The playing surface was an enigma on Tuesday.
It started off playing really well with the hard ball and then got progressively tougher as it softened, though it seemed to play a touch easier in the second innings.
“I think the wicket was definitely a tough one,” Bosch said.
“I think both sides showed that it’s probably a new ball wicket. The ball turned quite a bit after that, so the spinners played a crucial part.”
And it is likely the turners will play an even bigger role in the remaining two encounters.
The Herald
