Temba Bavuma admits Proteas had luck on their side after nail-biting win over Pakistan

By Nasri Alexander
28th October 2023

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma admits his team had luck on their side after clinching a thrilling one-wicket victory over Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup in Chennai.

Bavuma and his teammates watched on as Keshav Maharaj and last man Tabraiz Shamsi reached the target of 271 with 16 balls to spare.

After being in control for most of the run-chase, the Proteas suffered a collapse which left them needing 21 runs with just two wickets in hand in the 42nd over.

Maharaj though guided Lungi Ngidi and Shamsi through a nail-biting period before smashing the second ball of the 48th over to the boundary to clinch the win and start wild celebrations from his teammates.

"We were all on the edge of our seats," Bavuma said after the game. "I think you had everyone's opinions flying around as to how we should be going about that run chase.

"But at the end of the day, the guys who were in there, Keshav and [last man in Tabraz Shamsi], they did it for us.

"I think we did have luck on our side. We did give them opportunities to get into the game. But fortunately for us, I think the gods were with us.

"Tt's easier for us to have those conversations regarding how probably regarding our blueprint and how we want to go about going about those run chases."

The Proteas have now won five out of six matches at the global tournament to sit at the top of the standings but question marks still remain on their ability to chase a sizeable target.

Bavuma and charges have been impressive batting first and the only game they have lost was when chasing against Netherlands and the Pakistan clash, although a win, would certainly have caused some alarm bells.

The skipper added: "I think I've said this probably 50 times, we've spoken about our brand of cricket being positive but I think probably in situations like that there is room for us to maybe be a bit more calculative, maybe identify where the risks are and how we can have low risk options in terms of coming up against whatever the challenges are.

"I think it's conversations that we're going to need to have, and it's the learnings that we're going to have to take out of performances like these.

"I think from a belief point of view, what I must say is that I think it will go a long way in terms of our team, in terms of how far we believe that we can go in the tournament."