Men’s ODI World Cup: Temba Bavuma’s hamstring injury is likely to keep him out of the semifinal match

After suffering a hamstring injury in their last league encounter, which they won by five wickets against Afghanistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday, South Africa’s skipper Temba Bavuma is probably not going to play their 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup semi-final match.

After the first innings’ nine balls, Bavuma departed the field. He returned four overs later, although he was limping and fielded mostly at mid-off. He staggered as an opening hitter and rushed warily after the balls while fielding, particularly when it came to taking singles.

“Unfortunately, I’m not sure how painful my leg is, but it should be OK for the semi-final. Although it was our last group-stage match, I don’t believe it had much of an impact on the play-offs. Still, I had the choice to withdraw.

I still desired to be outside with the boys, nonetheless. I didn’t want to miss the chance to acquire some middle-of-the-field experience (batting). Additionally, to continue rallying the team, managing the field, and fostering those bonds with the bowlers. After the game, Bavuma said, “I believed it was necessary to remain on the pitch, even if it was a little hazardous at the moment.

Aiden Markram will lead South Africa in the semi-final, which is expected against Australia in Kolkata on Thursday. This arrangement came about after Bavuma missed matches against England and Bangladesh because of sickness, with Reeza Hendricks opening the batting.

Following an exciting one-wicket victory over Pakistan in Chennai, South Africa easily crossed the finish line after successfully chasing down 245 against Afghanistan. In past games when they were forced to chase, South Africa had fallen short against India and the Netherlands.

We want to maintain this momentum since it’s said that winning becomes a habit. We expect a great deal of trust. We also took a somewhat different approach. Although it is customary to bat first, we chose to bat second.

“Well, we were told to bowl first, and crossing the finish line in that fashion will give us a lot of confidence.” There was broad consensus over the best way to pursue that goal. Bavuma said, “Excellent knock by Rassie, who took ownership of that innings and guys batted around him.”