South Africa were confident after high-pressure chases in Tests: Rassie van der Dussen

Coming off the back of an unbeaten 129 off 96, South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen says that two high-pressure chases in the Test series has made his side quite confident. 

Van der Dussen also added that he brought out the sweeps and the reverse sweeps to unsettle the spinners early on. "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," Van der Dussen said at the online media interaction after the opening ODI on Wednesday (January 19). 

"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 the them (Indian spinners).

"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.

Van der Dussen also says that South Africa worked hard in the nets to play spin and slower bowlers better. "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."

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.

(With inputs from PTI)