South Africa coach Rob Walter heaped praise on India after his side got taken to the cleaners during its World Cup 2023 encounter at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
South Africa had a mountain to climb after India, having opted to bat, put 326 for five on the board on Sunday.
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“They are a hell of a team; very well balanced and highly skilled. There’s no way around it that they have won every game and then this one as well. You have to believe that on the day if you execute your skills, you’ve also got a chance,” Walter said, addressing the media after the Proteas embarrassingly went down by 243 runs.
South Africa and India are the only teams to have cemented a semifinal spot, thus far. Walter believes things could pan out differently if the two teams are pitted against each other once again during one of the knockout fixtures.
He said, “This is a funny game and you get taught new lessons every single day. It wouldn’t surprise me if the tables turn the next time round. The beauty of it is that there maybe another shot for us and we’ve been given an opportunity to learn from this.”
Pacer Marco Jansen conceded 94 to become the most expensive South African bowler in ODI World Cup history. However, Walter believes there is light to be found at the end of the tunnel.
He said, “It’s a gift to be able to run out in front of 75,000 in a game like today and (there are) so many learning opportunities out there. Fortunately for us, today wasn’t a must-win fixture. It was just an opportunity to play against a really good team. And yeah, he struggled today. But he’s got the skillset to bounce back and be effective the next time around.”
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