Dubai - Proteas centurion Rassie van der Dussen does not want to get too excited with the thrilling warm-up win over Pakistan because "the real test" will be against Australia on Saturday.
The Proteas open their T20 World Cup campaign against the Aussies in Abu Dhabi on the back of two warm-up victories over Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Van der Dussen, in particular, produced an excellent 101 not out off 51 balls to spearhead the Proteas' run-chase against Pakistan. The stylish right-hander is, though, taking everything in his stride.
"We will take a lot of confidence from it (the victories). But I suppose the real test is on Saturday and we will take the learnings from this," Van der Dussen said.
"I think it is vital to spend time on these wickets. They are a bit lower and slower, especially at night when it gets a bit skiddy and low. It does change. We know what to expect going forward."
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Van der Dussen shared a 107-run partnership with captain Temba Bavuma, who surprisingly came in at No 4 during this game, and he praised the skipper for the way Bavuma took the pressure off him with a 42-ball 46 during that period of the game.
"The guys that came in that played around me played really well. And then sometimes when you're chasing a big score you stay in fifth gear and the scoreboard tells you how to play. Throughout the innings I thought we managed it well. Maybe we needed a bit too many of the last three overs, but we executed our boundary options well," Van der Dussen said.
With the majority of the Proteas batting unit having not played in the United Arab Emirates before ahead of this tournament, the warm-up games have been of great benefit in terms of adapting game plans to the local conditions.
"Obviously (it feels) very good (to get the hundred). Not having a scoreboard helps because I didn't even know I was close to that. I think the lesson there is take it ball-by-ball and have your gameplans. Trust in them and play the situation of the game according to the run-rate required," Van der Dussen said.
"We wanted to give ourselves a chance upfront, but I thought we were a bit a behind in the Powerplay. We knew though during the middle period we would have boundary options and if we executed them we would get close and the thought was always to have a guy in to put them under pressure."
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