Cape Town: The Proteas have been thoroughly outplayed by India in the first two ODIs but pacer Kagiso Rabada feels that his team still has a chance of making a comeback in the remaining four matches of the series.
Courtesy victories in Johannesburg and Centurion, India have taken a 2-0 lead in the six-match series.
“There are a few problems. I wouldn’t say there’s a lot. Sometimes when you do badly all it seems like there’s a lot more going wrong than what really is happening. So failure is going to happen and it’s going to happen again.
“It is very important we keep speaking the right language. Anything can happen in sport. We need to get as much momentum as we can. We are definitely not out of it. Definitely not!” said Rabada.
Apart from dominating batting performances, it has been the Indian bowling led by the wrist-spinner duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who have wreaked havoc with a total of 13 wickets in two matches.
But the hosts have ensured that they make their preparations ahead of the third ODI in Newlands when they batted against as many as five wrist spinners.
Rabada added, “We clearly haven’t come to the party. It’s not acceptable at all. India are a strong team. They’ve just beaten Australia (at home) comprehensively. I know they’ve been playing all their games at home, but they’ve been playing good cricket.
“It doesn’t help that we have been going through a few changes and not been in the best form since the Champions Trophy in one-day cricket. We are still trying to catch up at the moment. Hopefully it comes pretty soon.”
When asked as to how South Africa could turn it around, the 22-year-old said, “In an ideal world, close to the perfect game, if a lot of people score runs and lot of people take wickets. Or you need individual brilliance. We’ll take either.
“It’s not generally that we something we talk about. We are experienced enough to know that cricket is a game of ups and downs. We just need to go back, see where we’re going wrong, calm down and do our business on the field looking to turn the momentum over.”
While there have been some mediocre performances for the hosts, a host of injury setbacks have also been a reason why South Africa haven’t been able to put up a fight against India in the series so far.
First it was AB de Villiers, then it was skipper Faf Du Plessis and now, it’s wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock, who joins the list of injured cricketers.
But Rabada feels that this would provide opportunities for young cricketers to make a mark as the teams slowly begin with their preparations for the 2019 World Cup.
“It gives other players a chance. We’ve got players who have been playing in franchise cricket for a while and doing pretty well. Those three names that have dropped out of the team are pretty much irreplaceable at the moment.
“So, it just gives guys a chance to widen the pool so other players can experience international cricket. Perhaps it is a blessing in disguise,” added the youngster.
The Kohli-Rabada contest has been an interesting one all throughout the series so far and while commenting on it, the pacer said, “For all batsmen we have couple of plans. Obviously that was one of them – short ball (to Kohli). At the end of the day, you are nice and competitive on the field. Coming off the field that changes.”