Kuldeep and Jadeja will be a good test for us: Bavuma

KOLKATA: South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma is basking in the glory of a string of dazzling performances in the World Cup but indicated that facing quality Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday could test his batters when the teams clash here on Sunday.

Riding on its superlative performance, South Africa is on a four-match winning streak as it faces Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten side in a top-of-the-table clash at the Eden Gardens and Bavuma said his side will draw energy from the “positive sentiment floating around the team”. “Kuldeep (Yadav) has bowled very well. He’s been taking wickets for them in the middle, in conjunction with (Ravindra) Jadeja. So, they’ve been quite key within that middle phase.

“I think we’ve played spin quite well as a team over the last couple of years. So, it’ll be a good test for us batters as to how we come up against the challenge of Yadav as well as Jadeja,” he said in the pre-match media conference. Bavuma also said that the Proteas will have to bring its ‘A’ game to the table to counter Indian bowling, which has been augmented by the inclusion of pacer Mohammed Shami. “You respect the strength and the threats that they bring. It’s obviously a world-class bowling attack in their condition. We’re going to have to have our A games up come tomorrow (Sunday).

“We try to cover all our bases, make sure that we’re not surprised by anything, and get ourselves into a space where we can play our best cricket,” he said.

Asked whether its power-packed batting performance so far had wiped off the choker’s tag that gets attached to the side whenever it plays in ICC events, Bavuma indicated that a loss after putting up such impressive performances here should not be taken as a sign of choking.

“To choke? I don’t know how to answer that. I think if we come unstuck tomorrow (Sunday), I don’t think it’ll be a matter of choking. I doubt you would say that about India as well if they come unstuck, if they would choke.

“You got two teams who are in-form, coming up against each other and I think it’s just a matter of who blinks first and who’s able to, I guess, exploit that moment or that weakness.

“We’ll deal with them as best as we can. But, yeah, I haven’t heard that word come up as of yet in the training,” added Bavuma. The Proteas have had some world-class players over the years but they have not been able to cross the line even once, and faltered in the semifinal of the global showpiece on four occasions. “From the start of the tournament, we spoke about just trying to take it game by game, staying as present as we can. I believe we’ve done that very well,” Bavuma said.