(Reuters) – South Africa suffered a significant defeat against India in a Cricket World Cup match, losing by a record 243 runs. However, Coach Rob Walter remains calm and optimistic as the team has already secured a spot in the semi-finals.
In the game, India established dominance from the start, posting a challenging score of 326 for five on a difficult pitch. South Africa struggled in their response, getting all out for only 83 runs, resulting in their worst-ever defeat in One-Day Internationals.
Coach Walter acknowledges that his team did not perform to their best abilities on that particular day. He states, “To be fair, it is just a day that we were out-skilled. I didn’t feel that was a 320 pitch, it was too much on that deck and then from a bowling point of view they put us under pressure right from the word go. They are a hell of a team, very well balanced and highly skilled. There’s no way around it. They’ve won every game and they’ve won them well.”
This result highlights a clear weakness of the South African side – they struggle when chasing targets. While they have achieved dominant victories in five matches batting first and easily surpassing the 300-run mark on each occasion, they have experienced defeats when chasing against the Netherlands and India. They also narrowly won by one wicket against Pakistan after being set a target of 271 runs.
Coach Walter explains that fielding first against India also posed a challenge for their bowlers, as they usually benefit from swinging the new ball in night matches when bowling second. He says, “We have been able to swing the ball, the new ball, and most of the time we’ve been doing it at night (bowling second). Bowling first, there wasn’t as much swing as we’ve been used to.”
Looking ahead, South Africa will face Afghanistan next, providing an opportunity for the team to regain confidence and form before the semi-finals. Coach Walter believes that if they encounter India again in the tournament, they have the potential to win. He states, “This is a funny game and you get taught new lessons and surprised every single day. It wouldn’t surprise me if the tables turned next time around. The beauty of it is that there may well be another shot for us and we’ve been given an opportunity to learn.”
Reporting by Nick Said; editing by Robert Birsel
