Breetzke confident of beating Team India in Vizag

• India seeks win vs South Africa to avoid series loss after prior 0-2 Tests defeat.
• Breetzke trusts SA's balanced batting, power hitters like Jansen/Bosch, to counter India.
• Dew aided SA chases; team plans if batting first, adapting from Pakistan tour experience.

The three-match series is tied at 1-1, and India must secure a win on Saturday to avoid a second consecutive series loss against the Proteas, having already been defeated 0-2 in the prior Tests. South

African batter Matthew Breetzke recognises that India will come at them strongly in the decisive third ODI but is relying on their balanced batting side to overcome the challenge.

“We’re going to have to play good cricket against a really good side. We know that they’re going to be really hungry to win. It’s a must-win game, so it’s going to be a really good contest,” said Breetzke on the eve of the third ODI.

The 27-year-old batter drew confidence from the resilience shown by South Africa’s middle and lower-order in the previous two matches. He sees the presence of capable batters like Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch lower down the order as a significant advantage.

“We’ve got a nice balance in our side with a couple of guys who are proper batters, and then you’ve got powerhouses like Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch that can change the game on its head.

“So, I think we complement each other really well, and there’s a lot of confidence in the batting group at the moment. We will have to do it again tomorrow.”

Breetzke noted that the presence of power-hitters down the order allows top-order batters to play risk-free cricket.

“It gives you confidence as top-order batters, knowing that you have Jansen and Bosch at the bottom. I think we’ve seen Bosch in the last two matches play some really special innings. The top four it gives you a lot of confidence. You can take a little bit more time because you know you’ve got that explosive power at the back end,” he remarked.

Breetzke said the recent tour to Pakistan helped him adapt to his new role batting at No. 4.

“Yeah, a little bit. I think the conditions were obviously very different in Pakistan, but I’m just getting more experience now batting at 4 and starting to feel a little bit more comfortable. Hopefully I’ll get better,” he added.

South Africa chased the target in both Ranchi and Raipur, and the presence of dew made their task easier as Indian bowlers struggled to grip the ball during the middle overs. Breetzke mentioned that the South African team has plans to handle the situation if they need to bat first in the upcoming match.

“We have seen that the dew has played a big part (in the first two matches), obviously, in our advantage, batting second, it’s been really nice to bat. If we have to bat first, I’m sure we’ll chat about it after a couple of meetings after this conference and see what the best way to go about it. But yeah, the dew has definitely played a big part,” he said.

(With PTI Inputs)