South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said that he will opt to bat first if he wins the toss in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan on Friday, October 27, in Chennai.
South Africa scored 399/7 against England and 382/5 against Bangladesh to record big wins by more than 100 runs in Mumbai, and Bavuma warned Pakistan of another big total if the conditions allow them in Chennai.
Temba Bavuma said at the pre-match press conference: “I watched the Afghanistan game with Pakistan and it seemed to get a lot better batting under light. So, I guess there's that temptation from a batting point of view at least. There's obviously us needing to consider the fact that we've had a lot of success of late batting first. So fortunately for me, I don't have to make that decision right now.”
He added, “But, I think we know somewhere along the line in the tournament we'll have to bat second. The conversations that we've had as batters is to find ways as to how we can still follow that same process that we follow when we're batting first. If the opportunity is there for us to score 350, we'll do so. If not, we'll make sure we play what's happening in front of us as best as we can.”
Bavuma also confirmed that there will be changes to South Africa’s playing XI against Pakistan as the star spinner Tabraiz Shamsi is set to play in Chennai.
He added, “We haven't finalised the team yet. We haven't seen the wicket yet. It's still under covers, but definitely, you can expect for Shamsi to come into play.”
Read Also: CWC 2023: “Hassan Ali is only in Pakistan team because of friendships”- Danish Kaneria
South African skipper admitted that Pakistan has been struggling at the ongoing CWC 2023, but his team would not take anything for granted.
He noted: “We know that they haven't played close to their best, but tomorrow could be that. (We have to) make sure we are ready for that.”
Bavuma signed off by saying, “We didn't write out Pakistan starting the tournament. I had them as one of the top four teams at the end of the group stages. So that's the amount of respect that you have for Pakistan. We don't have a great record against Pakistan in ODIs. With everything that is happening around their team, the things that are not happening well for them.”
(With PTI Inputs)
