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South Africa’s Champions Trophy campaign ended in heartbreak as they fell short against a dominant New Zealand side in the semi-final on Wednesday in Lahore.
Despite a promising start led by Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen, the Proteas’ middle order crumbled under pressure, leaving their chase of 362 out of reach.
Bavuma, who stitched together a century stand with Van der Dussen before falling for 56, admitted the top order needed to step up.
"New Zealand were above par. As well as they batted, we backed ourselves to chase 350 with the wicket getting better. We had one or two good partnerships, but not enough," he said.
The South African skipper acknowledged that New Zealand’s relentless batting display put them on the back foot early in the chase.
"They pierced the off-side regularly and kept hitting boundaries in the middle overs. It was tough to contain them, especially with wickets in hand at the death, which put us under pressure," he explained.
Bavuma lamented the lack of a substantial partnership deep into the innings, saying, "At 125-1 with Rassie and me still batting, we needed to carry on until the 30th over. We know how destructive our middle order can be in the last 20 overs, but we left too much to do for those coming in."
Reflecting on the defeat, he emphasized the need for a more ruthless approach. "From a batting point of view, being more decisive is what's on my mind. We have to be ruthless and go for the game."