Sinalo Jafta confident on South Africa’s ability to bounce back after they folded for 69 against England on Friday.
Sinalo Jafta: SA ready to reset after ‘blowout’ against England.
After being dismissed for 69 against England in Guwahati on Saturday, South Africa’s wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta has embraced the switch to Indore. Nearly a year after facing each other in the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Dubai, South Africa will play New Zealand in Indore on Monday. New Zealand has already participated in a World Cup match in Indore.
“We always knew coming into a tournament like this, games like this happen,” Jafta said. “Because it’s such a long tournament, we just have to accept what has happened. Laura [Wolvaardt] capped it off nicely and said, we don’t become a bad batting unit overnight. Obviously, homework was done, and now we’re just looking forward to the next one.
“We had to leave the town [Guwahati] behind us. When you look and you’re coming into Indore, the people have been fantastic. For us, it’s like a fresh perspective. We saw the first game they had – it was a high-scoring day. For us as a batting unit, it’s just to knuckle down and bat. Don’t think too much about the outcome. Just take it one ball at a time.”
Jafta acknowledged that South Africa’s strategy against England was flawed, but she insisted that her players “won’t dwell” on the batting meltdown.
That chance arises against a New Zealand team that has just suffered a loss to Australia. South Africa will not undervalue New Zealand, whom they haven’t played in an ODI since October 2023, according to Jafta.
“You have the likes of Amelia Kerr, Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine – players who’ve been playing for a really long time,” she said. “But also, you’re not underestimating your Georgia Plimmer, your [Maddy] Greens, your Izzy Gaze – she came off. For us as a bowling unit, it’s about being very disciplined in how we go about our things.”