South Africa top-order batter Rassie van der Dussen conceded that his side needs to improve its ability to chase runs after Afghanistan bowlers made things difficult for them in the middle overs in their World Cup match here on Friday. Chasing 245 for victory, the Proteas got a good start with Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma stitching together a 64-run partnership but their departure led to a mini collapse which saw Aiden Markram (25), Heinrich Klaasen (10) and David Miller (24) not being able to convert starts. (Highlights | Scorecard | Full Coverage | Report)
Finally, Van der Dussen played the anchor role, guiding his team to a five-wicket victory with an unbeaten 76 off 95 deliveries along with Andile Phehlukwayo who contributed 39. "We are probably 50-50 when chasing and we would like to improve that, of course," said Van der Dussen after the win. Van der Dussen, however, added that he was happy that the chase worked out well in the end, which will hold the team in good stead going in to the semifinals.
"Going into the semifinal, this is what we wanted to do and it worked out well." Bavuma was seen limping while running between the wickets and the skipper said his leg is still sore though he hoped it will be fine ahead of the semifinal. "Obviously, my leg is sore. I don't know to what extent but it is going to have to be fine, at least in my eyes. I obviously had that option of coming off but it was our last group stage game, and I wanted to be out there with the guys," said Bavuma.
"It was an opportunity to spend some time in the middle and I did not want to let it go. I wanted to keep marshalling the guys, keep strengthening the relationship with our bowlers. It was a risk but I felt it was the right move (to stay on)." He added that batting second and winning had given the side a lot of confidence ahead of the knockout match.
"Winning is a habit, so, we want to take that momentum through. Today we did a few things differently. We batted second today. To get over the line in that manner, that is going to give us a lot of confidence. Fantastic knock by Rassie, he took ownership and the guys batted around him." On whether the Proteas would break the World Cup jinx and silence their critics, Bavuma said, "Yeah, definitely. We would want to play here (in Ahmedabad) again, in front of a capacity crowd, and it will be a different experience playing in front of a hundred thousand fans.
"Before that, we have Australia (in the semifinals). We will enjoy today and from tomorrow, we will start training our minds for that clash," he said. Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said he was happy with the performance of his side, which created several upsets and came close to defeating five-time champions Australia.
"As a captain, I am quite happy with our performances. We fought till the last moment in each and every game. We had good matches and had some good learnings for the future too. "Proud of the way our batters performed in this tournament. We were struggling before the World Cup. So, we sat together and talked about our weaknesses.
"In the end, you saw how our batters did and it is a positive sign for the future. Everyone knows we have good spinners. "If we go with the same momentum that we had in the batting department this World Cup, we will do well. We gave a good message to the world. "We played big teams and we fought till the last moment, even if we lost. Even the Australia game was in our hands but it was shocking the way Maxwell batted. But there were lots of learnings too," he concluded.
