"No one gave us much of a chance" - Temba Bavuma on South Africa's motivation for ODI series win vs India

Temba Bavuma led South Africa to a brilliant ODI series win against India today as they emerged victorious by seven wickets in the second match of the series. South Africa have sealed the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead going into the final match on Sunday.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma said that the team took motivation from the fact that India were heavy favorites coming into the series. He added that winning the series was the objective but he did not expect to have the series in the bag with a match to go. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, he said:

"That was the objective for us starting the series, we wanted to win the series. We weren't expecting to do it after two games. Coming into this series, no one gave us much of a chance, so that really gave us motivation."

Temba Bavuma also spoke about how South Africa don't rely on any superstar but come together and fight as a team. He added:

"I think, as a team, we have a lot of self-belief and confidence in our ability. We go out there and fight for one another. We really try to put in a real team effort. We don't really on superstars or one or two performances."

"It's great to have him back" - Temba Bavuma on Quinton de Kock

Quinton de Kock missed the last two Tests against India but returned for the ODI series. On Friday, he played a key role in the Proteas' win, hitting a quickfire 78 off just 66 deliveries to take the game away from India early on.

De Kock was named the Man of the Match for his stunning knock and a quickfire stumping of Venkatesh Iyer.

Speaking about the wicketkeeper-batter, Temba Bavuma said:

"Obviously it's great to have Quinny back, see him smiling in the team. He reminded us again why he's such a valuable player."

What has been a prominent feature in this series is South Africa's spinners outperforming their Indian counterparts. Today, Tabraiz Shamsi took two wickets while Keshav Maharaj and Aiden Markram picked up one scalp each. Speaking about the duo, the Proteas skipper said:

"We pride ourselves in our fast bowlers, but to see the spin bowlers bringing the game home for us, that really makes us a side to be reckoned with."

Temba Bavuma also spoke about the captaincy and added that he has enjoyed the role from when he was a skipper in domestic cricket. He explained that it also helped him to have good 'cricket brains' around. Bavuma said:

"I enjoy it. I have enjoyed it since I did it at domestic cricket. I try and see how I can serve and inspire others in the team. I'm fortunate that there's a lot of cricket brains in the team. That's a good thing. Sometimes it can be a bad thing, they can confuse you on the field."

South Africa will hope to complete a 3-0 series sweep when the two teams meet for the final ODI on Sunday.