ODI World Cup 2023: Temba Bavuma likely to be doubtful starter for South Africa semi-final due to hamstring injury
Bavuma left the field after nine balls in the first innings and returned four overs later, but limped while playing mainly mid-off.
Ahmedabad: South African captain Temba Bavuma is likely to be a doubtful starter for their 2023 ODI Men’s World Cup semi-final after suffering a hamstring injury in their last league match, which they won by five wickets against Afghanistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday .
Bavuma left the field after nine balls in the first innings and returned four overs later, but limped while playing mainly mid-off. He ran gingerly after balls while fielding and hobbled while running as a leadoff hitter, especially when it came to taking base hits.
“Obviously my leg hurts – I don’t know to what extent – but it should be fine (for the semi-final). Obviously I had the opportunity to get out, but I think as much as it was our last game in the group stage, it probably didn’t have a big impact on the play-off.”
“But I still wanted to be there with the boys. It was an opportunity for me to get some time in the middle (at bat), so I didn’t want to let that go. But also to continue to lead the boys, continue to perform in the field and continue to strengthen the relationships with the bowlers. It was a bit risky to stay on the field, but I thought it was right at the time,” Bavuma said after the match.
If Bavuma is unavailable to play the semi-final, likely against Australia in Kolkata on Thursday, Aiden Markram will captain South Africa, an arrangement that came about when Bavuma missed matches against England and Bangladesh due to illness, with Reeza Hendricks opening the batting .
South Africa successfully chased down 245 against Afghanistan and crossed the line comfortably after a thrilling one-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai. In other matches where they were chased, South Africa had lost to the Netherlands and India.
“They say winning is a habit, so we want to continue that momentum. We have a lot of confidence. Plus, we did something different. Normally the preference is to strike first; (but) we batted second.”
“Well, we were sent to bowl first and to get across the line like that will put a lot of confidence in us. (There was a lot of) understanding about how we can approach that pursuit. Fantastic knock from Rassie, who took control of that innings, and the boys batted around him,” Bavuma concluded.