Despite the heroics of captain Temba Bavuma in the first One Day International (ODI) against Australia on Thursday night, it was not enough for the Proteas to win as they lost by three wickets.
Bavuma led his side by example and carried the team through the innings when he smashed 144 runs (not out) off 142 balls.
Run chase of 223 runs to win, Australia struggled, and defeat was beckoning for them as the score was 113/7, requiring 110 runs with just three wickets left.
However, the partnership of Marnus Labuschagne (80 not out) and Ashton Agar (48 not out) was enough to help the visitors cross the line.
Even after his stellar performance, Bavuma admitted that he was disappointed at the way they conducted themselves, as that they did not capitalise on Australia’s slow start with the bat.
“If you get the opposition into a position like that, you definitely expect yourself to clean up the game,” said Bavuma after the match.
“We always speak about being relentless when you’re given a sniff against a team of this calibre. You’ve got to take it.
“If the roles were reversed and we were 113/7 and they were bowling, the Aussies would have prided themselves on getting the job done.
“It’s definitely disappointing, but I suppose we should take some confidence from getting them into that position in the first place.”
It was Australia’s fourth straight victory against Rob Walter’s men since the beginning of their tour of South Africa, following their whitewash in the T20 in Durban last week.
With less than a month to go to the men’s ICC Cricket World Cup, it will take a lot of hard work digging deep for the Proteas if they are to have a successful tournament in India.
The Proteas will be expected to dust themselves off and look ahead to the second ODI in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
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