AB: You live for those pressure moments

The Proteas show their delight after beating England by five wickets at Newlands on Sunday to clinch the ODI series 3-2. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky, BackpagePix

The Proteas show their delight after beating England by five wickets at Newlands on Sunday to clinch the ODI series 3-2. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky, BackpagePix

Published Feb 14, 2016

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The Proteas were in a “dark place” at 2-0 down in the ODI series against England, but captain AB de Villiers took them into the light at Newlands on Sunday.

At 22/3, chasing 237 for victory and with the series at stake, the pressure doesn’t get much bigger than that. But De Villiers – playing in his 200th one-day international – and stalwart batsman Hashim Amla didn’t panic, despite the English attack having their tails up in an attempt to spoil Valentine’s Day for the South African supporters among the 19 715 crowd at Newlands.

They put on 125 to set up the five-wicket victory and clinch the series 3-2 after being 2-0 down.

“The chat (between Amla and De Villiers) was basically not to worry about the runs, and to make sure we get in and not lose another wicket. It was very positive chat that we had, there was nothing negative between the two of us – we had done it before, we’re two experienced players and I felt it was really important for us to take it 10 runs at a time, but to eventually get to a 50-run partnership,” De Villiers said at the post-match press conference.

“The difference was probably something that I harp on a lot – hunger. I think we were maybe just more hungry than England to really nail it down and to create history. To come back from 2-0, whether that is a record or not – in my eyes, it’s something really special.

“Just to keep believing, to keep that hunger that we showed at SuperSport Park. And even though we were in a really dark place at 2-0 down, I just asked the guys to keep believing and really have that faith that we could come back in the series and to take it one step at a time.”

But when Amla got out, there were still 90 runs required. Farhaan Behardien played a rash shot against Adil Rashid to get out for 13, and it would’ve been easy for Russell Domingo’s team to crumble.

David Wiese hasn’t looked convincing with the bat at the highest level despite a solid franchise record, and the South Africans couldn’t expect Chris Morris to repeat his blinder from the Wanderers.

So, there wasn’t much batting left, but Wiese took the initiative by carting Rashid for two sixes in a row, while De Villiers kept going at the other end.

The world’s best batsman sped through the 90s in four balls, with two boundaries, and he expressed his delight after going to his 24th ton in his 200th match, ending on 101 not out off 97 balls (11x4, 1x6) to win the Man-of-the-Match award.

“It’s right up there. You live for those kinds of pressure moments. I think that through a guy’s international career, you have some ups and downs, but you always feel like you’re going to be tested in moments like that,” De Villiers said.

“And it’s taken me years to feel comfortable in pressure situations like that, and I’m starting to feel like I really have good composure in those kinds of situations, which I tried again today and which I got right.

“That’s something I’m really proud of, the composure I had in the moment where I felt the game was on the line, being three down there early on. Hash and I had to make a play to get us back into the game, so very proud of that – not only for me, but for the whole team showing composure throughout.

“Even David Wiese right at the end there, he had to feel a lot of nerves, so the way he handled that was exceptionally pleasing to me.”

So, it was sweet revenge for the Proteas on Valentine’s Day after they lost the Test series 2-1. Now it’s on to two T20 matches against England, starting at Newlands on Friday (6pm start).

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