Bavuma highly disappointed, calls for introspection after South Africa’s historic whitewash by Pakistan

South Africa suffered a historic ODI series whitewash at home against Pakistan, leaving skipper Temba Bavuma and the Proteas in deep reflection. The series concluded with Pakistan clinching a dominant victory, led by standout performances from Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan, alongside disciplined bowling by spinner Sufiyan Muqeem.

After the third and final ODI, Bavuma expressed disappointment, emphasizing the need for collective and individual introspection within the team.

“We have more questions than answers,” said Bavuma during the post-match presentation. “Klaasen was the shining light. He batted on a different pitch and showed why he’s held in such high regard. As a team, we need to get over these emotions, especially as many of us will be moving on to the Test series.”

Despite the poor results, Bavuma hailed Heinrich Klaasen as the standout performer. Klaasen scored three successive half-centuries in the series, amassing 264 runs at an impressive average of 88.33.

Opting to field first, South Africa managed an early breakthrough with Abdullah Shafique falling for a duck. However, Pakistan quickly turned the tide with a 115-run stand between Saim Ayub (101 off 94 balls, 13 fours, 2 sixes) and Babar Azam (52 off 71 balls, 7 fours). Ayub’s partnership with Mohammad Rizwan (53 off 52 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) added another 93 runs, propelling Pakistan to a formidable total of 308/9 in 50 overs.

Kagiso Rabada was South Africa’s top bowler, taking 3/56 in his 10 overs, while Marco Jansen and Bjorn Fortuin chipped in with two wickets each.

In their chase, South Africa faltered early and struggled to build momentum. Heinrich Klaasen’s valiant knock of 81 off 43 balls (12 fours, 2 sixes) stood out, but he lacked adequate support from his teammates. Contributions from Rassie van der Dussen (35 off 52 balls) and Corbin Bosch (40* off 44 balls) weren’t enough to prevent South Africa from being bowled out for 271 in 42 overs.

Sufiyan Muqeem led Pakistan’s bowling attack with impressive figures of 4/52, while Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi claimed two wickets each.