Amla reflects on batting while Proteas wait on injured players

While the skipper could not fault the bowling performances which kept the Proteas in the game until the last day, it was the ‘poor decision-making’ from the batsmen that was the let down in the fast-paced match.

“I agree that we could have applied ourselves a bit better,” Amla said to the media after the match. 

“ There were certain decisions that we made while we were batting that were not the right decisions.

 

“ The chat we had in our meetings was that the ball wasn’t turning that much,” he explained. 

“ A lot of dismissals for both teams were from a lack of turn rather than excessive turn. Sometimes those are the more difficult pitches to play on. In saying that, the ball wasn’t turning much and there were a few errors in decision-making that cost us.”

 

Despite the result, an area the Proteas should take some encouragement from is their resilience and fightback with the ball in both of India’s innings. The spinners bowled with good control and mixed it up with smart variations, with Imran Tahir’s strategic short spells making an impact for the captain. Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada may have faded in the shadows because of the conditions, but were equally impressive with tight lines and questioning lengths.    

 

“Throughout this Test match, even though it was a short match, we managed to hold our own right until the last innings,” Amla said.

“They could have easily gotten away from us with about 250 or 300 plus in the last innings, that would have been exceptionally difficult. The way we bowled and the way we applied ourselves in the field was very good.

 

“Not having Dale (Steyn) is a difficult  one because he is the best fast bowler in the world and the most successful fast bowler on the sub-continent,” Amla added. 

“We would have loved to have him but you have to deal with what you get dealt with. Credit to Vernon and Kagiso, they did well and the spinners contributed as well to restrict them to 200.

 

“All the bowlers walk away from this Test match with a bit of confidence,” he said. “Our spinners can take confidence, KG (Rabada) bowled well, Vernon was exceptional, in a strange way it’s a good place to be in because they have some game time and confidence under their belt.” 

 

Injury update

Proteas team manager, Dr Mohammed Moosajee gave the following injury update:

 

“JP Duminy had the stitches removed from this right hand laceration two days ago. He will have a net session in the next couple of days and should be available for selection for the second Test match in Bengaluru. Morne Morkel has fully recovered from the right quad strain, if the Test match had started a day later he probably would have been available for selection but it was too soon and he didn’t pass his fitness test on the morning of the match. The only fitness concern we have at the moment is Dale Steyn. He is still recovering from the groin strain he sustained during this Test match. He will have a fitness test two days before the second Test match before a final call on his availability is made.”   

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