JP Duminy on South Africa's series loss against Afghanistan: 'We were below par'

South Africa batting coach JP Duminy has admitted that they were below par after losing their first ODI series against Afghanistan. Notably, Afghanistan beat South Africa by 177 runs in the second ODI and registered a historic series win over the Proteas.

Rashid Khan starred with the ball for the Afghans as he picked his fifth five-wicket haul in the format and registered figures of 5/19 in nine overs. Apart from him, 20-year-old Nangeyalia Kharote also scalped 4/26 in 4.2 overs. Reflecting on his team’s loss, Duminy mentioned how South African batters struggled to pick Afghanistan spinners and said that they needed to look in the mirror to find a solution and get better.

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"We find ourselves in a position where we’re coming up against one of the best spinners in the world and, at times, guys found themselves in tricky situations where they didn’t pick him. We have to turn the mirror on ourselves and ask how we are going to get better,” said Duminy in the post-match press conference.

Further speaking ahead, Duminy admitted that his team was below par and indecisive in their movements.

"There is no running away from a situation like this. We were well below par in both games. When you’re indecisive in your movements, then that’s where you can be caught off guard, and that’s where we find ourselves,” he added.

It was the first ever bilateral series between the two teams as they earlier only faced each other in the ODI World Cups. Having lost on the previous five occasions in international cricket, Afghanistan finally registered their maiden win over South Africa in the first ODI beating them by six wickets.

Fazalhaq Farooqui starred with the ball picking 4/35 to bundle out the opposition for 106. In reply Afghanistan chased down the target comfortably in 26 overs. Meanwhile, having already taken an unassailable lead in the series, Afghanistan will aim for a whitewash in the third ODI on Sunday, September 22 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah.

Published By: Rishabh Beniwal Published On: Sep 22, 2024

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