Former Cricket South Africa convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang says the Proteas need the batters to stand up in the fourth and final T20I match against India at the Wanderers today (5pm start).
South Africa will head into the final encounter needing a victory to avoid suffering their second telling loss against India, following the seven-run defeat in the final of the T20 World Cup in June this year.
India currently lead the four-match series 2-1, and their 11-run victory on Wednesday night in Centurion meant that they took an unassailable lead, ensuring that the worst result they can take back home is a drawn series.
It is a result they will welcome, considering that they are missing a few of their regular players against a strong South African side that have fielded what is close to their best XI throughout the series.
Despite the strength and power they carry in their batting line-up, the hosts haven’t fired with the bat.
A Marco Jansen fighting knock of 54 in the third game is the highest individual score for any South African batter in the series, while India have two centuries from Tilak Varma (107) and Sanju Samson (107) in both the matches they have won.
Mpitsang believes this has been the area that has separated the two sides, and for the Proteas to pose a serious threat in the final match, somebody in the top-order has to deliver a telling knock.
“We need to give credit to how the Indian team has played in what is a bit of an inexperienced team, because the likes of Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) are not part of that squad,” Mpitsang told Independent Newspapers yesterday.
“I have always thought that this series was going to be a close one due to the quality of the two sides. If you look at the differences between India winning the first and third matches, one of the top-order players got a big score.
“Their coaching staff has come and given them a lot of confidence with the way they play, and they have put South Africa under pressure with the ball.
“The batting has let us down. I know (Tristan) Stubbs got runs in the second match, which is good, and he can be the difference.
“If the top-order can just fire and one of them gets at least a 70, we can put India under pressure.”
South Africa have lost 14 wickets to spin bowlers Ravi Bishnoi (four) and Varun Chakravarthy, who currently leads the way with 10 wickets from the three matches he has played so far.
Mpitsang thought the application when playing spin was improved by the batters on Wednesday, particularly when facing Bishnoi, but he also admitted that the mystery of Chakravarthy was always going to be a tough challenge.
“It was better on Wednesday. Bishnoi was put under a bit of pressure. I thought they played them better. They struggled against Chakravarthy in the second and third games, but he is a different bowler,” the former Proteas seamer said.
“If you haven’t been exposed to him and you haven’t played a lot of games against him, it becomes a problem because you feel under pressure to score.
“But it’s about picking the right options when you play against those kinds of spinners.”