Temba Bavuma lauds Sisanda Magala for game-changing spell in ...

Temba Bavuma heaped praise on fast bowler Sisanda Magala, who won the Player of the Match award after South Africa beat England by 27 runs in the first ODI of the series.

ENG haven’t seen much of him: Bavuma lauds Magala for game-changing spell in 1st ODI. Courtesy: AP

By India Today Web Desk: Skipper Temba Bavuma was delighted with Sisanda Magala after the latter became the Player of the Match following South Africa’s 27-run win over Jos Buttler’s England on Friday, January 27 at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

Magala won the Player of the Match award after he finished with figures of 9-0-46-3. It was Magala who gave the Proteas their first breakthrough after Dawid Malan and Jason Roy put on 146 runs for the opening wicket with England chasing 299 to win.

Bavuma also felt that the bowlers did an excellent job after South Africa got a below-par score after opting to bat first.

"The man of the match, that's where the game changed for us, got us some momentum, the guys after him rode the momentum. After Quinny got out I thought it was a good wicket, wicket got slower, ball got soft. We felt a little below par but it was enough,” Bavuma said.

Bavuma also had words of praises for Anrich Nortje, who bowled with race pace and churned out four crucial wickets.

“Got to keep staying in the game, they played well, did it for longer periods than Quinny and myself. Magala was a threat, they haven't seen much of him. But I was expecting one of our bowlers to do something special. Anrich showed his quality and raw pace. We'll take the win, we need the points. The conversation will be, are we happy with how we went about our business?" he added.

On the back of the excellent spells from Magala and Nortje, South Africa bowled England out for 271 in 44.2 overs and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Rassie van der Dussen also played his part by scoring 111 runs with the help of six fours and a six.