"Every game we play now is a big lead up opportunity. It's about filling in the gaps with guys who have left."
Temba Bavuma will be back to lead South Africa's ODI side as they seek to square the series in India but has not
confirmed where he will bat while the team continues to tinker with top-order combinations.
Bavuma missed the opening match with illness, where South Africa stuck to their new(ish) combination of Aiden Markram
and Ryan Rickelton, with Quinton de Kock at No.3. With the series on the line, they may look to return to the more
successful and experienced combination of de Kock and Bavuma at the top, especially given their record. While Markram
and Rickelton have opened together in just seven innings, and scored 306 runs at 43.71, de Kock and Bavuma have been
South Africa's second-most prolific opening pair since 2016 with over 1,000 runs together from 19 innings at 56.42, and
would appear the better choice.
On the eve of match two, Bavuma was non-committal about where he stood in the line-up. "Where I fit in, generally being
in that top three, I'm easy whichever way is best for the team, as long as I'm still contributing," Bavuma said in
Raipur, where he also had a long net session, confirming his return to health. "At the moment, it's about creating
depth. There is versatility in that guys who generally bat at the top of their order have used in the middle. In this
team, a guy like Matthew Breetzke, who generally sees himself at the top in one-day cricket, but he's doing that job
more than well now at No.4 A guy like Tony (de Zorzi) - he's getting that opportunity to bat at five."
South Africa hope to cross the line in Raipur after Ranchi thriller
South Africa find reason for ODI optimism despite top-order tangles
In the absence of Heinrich Klaasen (retired), Tristan Stubbs (dropped) and David Miller (not in this ODI squad), South
Africa have effectively created a top five out of five different opening batters with Dewald Brevis in at six. The only
reserve batter is Rubin Hermann (also a top three batter for the bulk of his List A career) and Bavuma explained their
reasoning for stacking the squad with top-order players.
"Going back to South Africa, there's always that element of batsmanship that you need. I know there's a big craze about
guys hitting sixes in the middle order, but you need a little bit of batsmanship. A guy like Tony, he has the
characteristics.," Bavuma said. "I guess now it's just to keep putting on the performances to justify why he should do
De Zorzi has played 21 ODIs for South Africa, scored 688 runs and averages 36.21. He has a strike-rate below 100 and
though he is strong against spin, is seen more as someone who can build an innings and rotate strike rather than a
big-hitter. It's that type of player South Africa think they will need, not only in the subcontinent but as they build
their resources for the home ODI World Cup in 2027.
The tournament is just less than two years away but South Africa will only play, according to the FTP, nine ODIs after
this series, all at home. That could change especially as the FTP only runs to April 2027 and the World Cup will be held
in October but the time to experiment is now, which is exactly what South Africa are doing.
"Every game we play now is a big lead up opportunity. It's about filling in the gaps with guys who have left," Bavuma
said. "Especially from a resource point of view, we want to make sure if we do have a situation where one of our main
bowlers is out that we do have young guys to step in. We're seeing guys like Nandre Burger, they are putting up their
hands. So creating depth and then seeing where guys can be filling in those roles."
With Kagiso Rabada out of the series. Burger led the attack in the first match with support from three other seamers:
Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen. South Africa also have Lungi Ngidi, who is certain to play a role at
some stage, in the squad, but for now, seem to be leaning more towards allrounders. Bosch and Jansen were both crucial
in South Africa's attempt to chase 350 in Ranchi and could keep their places as the series goes on. Jansen, in
particular, has had a coming of age tour of India, and has made himself central to South Africa's XI in all formats.
Expect to see much more of him in this series.
"I don't know where the rankings sit but I'm sure Marco Jansen in any one of those formats will definitely be in the top
10. His contributions with the bat, with the ball, sometimes even both, have been immense to our success. Marco is still
a young guy but he's had a lot of international cricket that is under his belt and he's only growing into his own and
he's becoming a lot more comfortable in his skin."
Currently, Jansen, who scored 93 and took seven wickets in the Guwahati Test, is sixth on the ICC's Test allrounder
rankings but 35th on the ODI list. His returns in Ranchi, where he scored a 39-ball 70 and took 2 for 76, could be the
start of his climb up the charts.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's correspondent for South Africa and women's cricket