Abu Dhabi: South African skipper AB de Villiers hailed his team’s performance in the fourth one-day international, which saw them beat Pakistan by 28 runs to clinch the series ahead of the final match in Sharjah.
“I thought it was a very solid performance,” he said. “It was a make-or-break game for us and we had a good opportunity to win the series when we arrived here.
“I was excited and also a bit nervous but the way the boys responded, I’m very happy. I’m very proud of every team member. Winning a series away from home is never easy, especially, if it is a team like Pakistan.”
De Villiers’ masterstroke on Friday night was the way he used Dale Steyn in short spells and the latter kept providing the breakthroughs every time he had the ball in his hand and Pakistan was building on a partnership.
“Steyn is the main guy for us and we knew we had to make the most of him,” said de Villiers.
“We didn’t use him too much early on as things weren’t happening [the ball was not swinging that much]. We used him at the right time and it worked for us.
“I never felt that the game was getting out of hand but I always felt they had a chance. I had spoken to the team that we needed lot of energy, intensity and aggression. However, patience was the key.”
The skipper was also pleased to see Quinton de Kock show a lot of maturity with his maiden century and felt that the youngster was his team’s future.
“Everybody is proud of him,” de Villiers said. “The way he came back after the disappointing series of Sri Lanka shows that he has character.
“First time I saw him, I knew he is a special talent and to score a ton at such an early age shows there is a future there. It was a very mature knock today and he really set us up well and the guys around carried on pretty well.”
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was confident that his team will do well in the return series in South Africa.
“Surely we can do well there,” he said. “We already played really well against them there. It was 2-2 and then we lost the final game. This team can put South Africa under pressure. The only thing is that our players lack a bit of experience and I think we need to learn that quickly.”
Going to South Africa so soon after this series means there will be little rest for the Pakistan players, but Misbah said it would not pose a problem.
“Yes, were are playing continuously and the players are not getting much rest, but we are professionals and will be able to handle that challenge. The more we play, the better for us and so we should be ready for these five matches.”
