The Proteas surrendered a 1-0 lead to go down 2-1 in the three-match series against Australia despite a magnificent unbeaten 97 from Hashim Amla in Wednesday’s decider at Newlands.
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“Being an allrounder, I don’t want to sound too biased, but I think in T20 (having multiple allrounders is) a massive factor”, he said.
South Africa come in to the tournament after a 1-2 loss against Australia in a Twenty20 global series but the left-handed batsman believes that the series against the reigning 50-over World Cup winners has prepared them for the World T20. “We have been pretty consistent, we need to pitch up to each game in the world cup and take it seriously”, the 26-year-old player told reporters at the open media session.
The Australian bowlers have had a dismal series so far, with none of them excelling in stopping the Proteas batsmen.
Australia chased down the total with four balls to spare, and Hastings was not required to bat.
Asked about the chokers tag at a press conference ahead of the World T20 in India, du Plessis said they were coping better at crunch points in tight matches and had improved their record on chasing totals.
“We have been playing together as a squad for some time now and are really hungry and motivated to put in the performances to bring us success”. South Africa head to the tournament ranked as the third best team in the 20-over format and on the back of recent series wins in Bangladesh and, crucially, India.
South African coach Russell Domingo said “a lot of boxes have been ticked during the series”, citing the return to action of Dale Steyn, the development of his fellow fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and the team’s batting performances. “The sides that do the basics really well in highpressure games, they usually come out on top”. “That’s the negative but the plus side is we won”, Warner said.
Players to watch out for are Glenn Maxwell as we all know how destructive he can be when he starts getting the ball on his bat and the last match shows that he has found his form back just before the ICC world T20 and he surely can prove to be a big game changer.
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Quinton de Kock (25 from 13 balls) and David Miller (30 from 16) provided impetus, but the innings slowed when Faf du Plessis and Rilee Roussow, in for the rested AB de Villiers, took 28 balls to score a combined 20 runs.
