South Africa are a confident team having won six out of seven World Cup 2023 and sitting at the top of the points table. Their next assignment will probably be the toughest of all as they get ready to face the hosts and in-form India, but batter Rassie van der Dussen is confident that the Proteas could beat the Men in Blue if they stick to their strengths.
“In our match review meetings, we keep looking at the numbers with the coaches and so far in this tournament, by most metrics, we’re stacking up pretty well. So, at the end of the day, it’s almost irrelevant who’s in front of you. We know if we play the way we want to play and execute how we want to and take the correct options, especially under pressure, then the result is a byproduct of that.”
Their formidable batting unit has been the strength for South Africa, who had the fewest dot balls and yet the most boundaries by any team in this showpiece.
“I think that’s a result of what we want to do when we’re out in the middle. We talk about what’s — assessing condition and what’s the correct option and always having the correct intent. And that sort of differs throughout the innings, your options, and your intent. But we know if we can tick those boxes, naturally you put yourself in a better position to score and to be in positions to manoeuvre the ball where you want to.” he added.
“We don’t really look to tick those boxes per se, but I think they tell a story in hindsight of where we are and how we want to go about it I suppose.”