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Cape Town - The Proteas will not be short of inspiration as they approach the 278 runs needed for victory in the third Test against India at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur.
Although the prospects look bleak from the outside, Proteas coach, Russell Domingo, says there is belief and determination within the squad to accomplish what no touring side has done.
It’s exactly three years to the day that Faf du Plessis’ courageous century on debut earned South Africa a thrilling draw against Australia in Adelaide, and who can forget the valiant effort by Du Plessis and AB de Villiers at the Bidvest Wanderers to get the team within a sniff of victory against India after defeat had seemed certain. Both batsmen are still to bat, and although conditions are extreme, motivation and hunger can go a long way.
“We have to believe that we can do it,” Domingo said at stumps on Thursday. “ We know that we have the players capable of pulling off what would definitely go down as one of the greatest chases in the game so we have to have that belief. Some strange things have happened in this game before. We are obviously a long way behind this game at the moment, but we are not discounting ourselves just yet.”
Domingo insists that the only way for the batsmen to approach the mammoth task ahead is to play with positive intent. Some of the batsmen were dismissed while taking the initiative in the first innings but more of the same approach will be needed if they are to relieve the pressure created by R Ashwin and Co.
“It was part of it (the plan), but I think it has been shown that if you just sit there and look to absorb without trying to score, you will get a ball that will get you out,” he said. “So the plan was not to play loosely, but look to score. We want to be positive in our defence and positive when we are attacking. It didn’t work this morning, unfortunately, but the guys who have got runs have looked to score. We are going to look to score tomorrow, because there is no way that we will block out for three days.”
Although the conditions and the poor batting took the spotlight, Domingo was full of praise for the bowlers, who dismissed India for 173.
“Imran Tahir bowled really well today, and Morne Morkel has been outstanding, those are the two standout performers today.”
