South Africa's white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma reckons that a series win over India in the upcoming three-ODI fixture will give his team a "hell lot of confidence" going forward.
In their last visit to South Africa in 2017-18, Team India had defeated the Proteas 5-1 in the six-match ODI series. It was also their maiden 50-over series win on South African soil.
"We will have to get things right in the next ODI series against India. I'm not too worried about what happened in that 2018 series. I'm more concerned about establishing our own style of play and implementing our strategy to good effect.
"An ODI series win against India would give us a helluva lot of confidence, and some momentum ahead of the games to follow," Bavuma was quoted as saying by 'Daily Maverick'.
According to Bavuma, their campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 helped change the perception about South Africa's white-ball team.
In the showpiece tournament, South Africa had won four out of their five group matches but they missed out on the semi-final spot on the basis of net run-rate.
"Perceptions are changing about this South African white-ball team. In the past, it was said that we lacked the ability to take on spin and that we struggled in overseas conditions. I feel like we proved a lot of people wrong at the T20 World Cup.
"We've just got to keep building towards that next T20 World Cup in Australia, which will require another shift in mindset."
The ODI series is due to get underway on January 19 in Paarl and ahead of the opening game, Bavuma said the ODI squad should take heart from the T20 team's showing during the World Cup in UAE.
"Perhaps we should take heart from what the T20 side has accomplished in recent times. That team didn't place much emphasis on results, but rather on the process. We really came to grips with how we wanted to play. There was a lot of energy and intensity, especially with regard to our fielding," he said.
"Then we start to win consistently. Since the beginning of the West Indies series last June, we've won 13 out of 16 T20s. It's something we want to replicate across the formats. If we bring the same energy to our ODI approach, we will build more confidence and momentum, and the big results will come."
(With PTI inputs)
