The Proteas produced an impressive 111 runs win over Australia during their third One Day International (ODI) in Potchefstroom on Tuesday.
However, the national cricket team is not out of the woods yet.
The national side was agonizingly dominant with the bat and ball against the Aussies and ended their five-game winless drought in the T20 and two ODI matches played recently.
Although the victory kept the team’s hopes alive in the ODI series against Australia, the Proteas must win their fourth match in order to take the series down to the fifth and final match on Sunday.
Star batsman Aiden Markram alongside captain Temba Bavuma (57) and Quiton de Kock (82) were instrumental in guiding the Proteas to victory, scoring an unbeaten 102 runs off 74 balls.
After the match, Markram admitted that the Proteas are relieved to have finally found a breakthrough and secure an important win against Australia.
“We pride ourselves on being really competitive, and when you don’t live up to those standards, it affects the human as well as the cricketer,” said Markram.
“When you’re struggling, it affects the human and the cricketer. It’s not nice letting the people of your country down.
“What also is a major plus for us is that it’s good to know that we’ve got the character to turn it around in a must-win game.
“When you get a good result, it means a lot to us. It’s nice to know, even with what has happened earlier on in this tour, that we have the character to turn it around in a must-win game.
“There are a lot of positives we can take forward and a lot of relief.”
The two giant cricket nations will resume their ODI series when they battle it out at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion, Pretoria on Friday.
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