South Africa thrashed India in the first ODI of the series in Johannesburg by 141 runs. But captain AB de Villiers has urged his team to “keep feet on the ground” knowing the Indians are capable of coming back hard at them.
“It doesn't mean that we are certainly going to win the series,” de Villiers said of his side’s complete domination of the visitors. “There is a lot of hard work to be done. Durban will be a lot more suited to the Indians and they can bounce back. So it is important to keep our feet on the ground.”
On the Wanderers wicket where the seamers had bounce and movement at their disposal, the Indians conceded 358 runs, a target that proved way out of reach of their batsmen. While the Indian captain expressed displeasure at his side’s bowling performance, de Villiers refused to write them off.
"India are certainly not a poor bowling line up,” said the Proteas captain. ”They do have the skill but they bowled a little bit short in the first five or ten overs. That gave us a big boost and confidence, and some momentum going forward," he explained.
de Villiers said the first 10 overs set up the platform for his team’s huge total. "Not losing wickets in the first 10 overs at the Wanderers is always huge, no matter how many runs you score. It sets you up nicely for the last 40 overs and that is what happened. It is quite handy keeping wickets in hand especially against a team like India," said de Villiers.
The teams now head off to Durban, where the conditions will be better suited to India. de Villiers said their 1-0 lead will be crucial in deciding the fate of the series.
"It was certainly very important for us to start off the series like that. It is not easy for sub-continental teams to tour South Africa. It is important to never allow them to get any momentum going ahead. So this first game was always going to be important in that sense," de Villiers said.
