India vs South Africa: Tried reverse sweeps to put pressure back on Indian spinners, says Van der Dussen

Paarl (South Africa): South African batter Rassie van der Dussen was satisfied that he could execute his sweep shots to perfection as the Indian spinners were unsettled during his team’s 31-run win over visitors in the first ODI.

Van der Dussen’s 129 not out off 96 balls and his 204-run stand with skipper and fellow centurion Temba Bavuma formed the cornerstone of an easy victory.

“Yeah, I think it was 68 for 3 when I came in. It was taking a bit of turn, so I knew I had to get my sweeps out. Generally, the wicket is quite slow here. I tried reverse sweeps, a few of them came off, got off to a flyer. I tried to put pressure back on them (Indian spinners),” Van der Dussen said at the online media interaction after the opening ODI on Wednesday.

Van der Dussen was involved in two high-pressure chases in the Test victories recently and that certainly increased his confidence in the first ODI where he took the Indian attack to cleaners.

“Two high pressure run chases in the Tests meant we were quite confident as a unit. All in all, a good day for the batters.” he added.

We have worked hard on how to play quality spinners

Van der Dussen swept really well against Tuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. It’s something he works hard on during net sessions for upgrading his skills against quality slow bowlers.

“Conditions in Paarl generally suit spinners and slower bowlers. The way we upskilled ourselves…starting from the T20s in West Indies, then the series in Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup.

“Up-skilling our batters against spin.. making sure that we can dominate spin. In the past SA batters were known to dominate against the seamers, now with the work put in by the coaching unit against spin bowling has helped a lot,” he added.

Van der Dussen, was all praise for his skipper Bavuma, who anchored the innings well.

“Obviously, played with Temba for long in my career. It was very hot out there today and when he got to 70 or 80, he felt the heat a bit and he reminded me to remind him to keep the intensity up. Always enjoyed batting with him, his running between the wickets is something I feed off well.”

Averaging 70 plus in his first 30 ODIs

Van der Dussen, who currently averages an astonishing 73.62 after 30 ODIs, said he did not pay too much attention to it and had always been clear about what to do when he went out to bat.

“To be honest, I don’t pay too much attention to it. Like I said earlier, every innings you are starting on zero and trying to assess the match situation. In my career, I have been clear on what to do when I go into bat.”

“I am glad I was able to play a match-winning knock. It is good to start on a good note and do for the team what they expect from me,” he added.