Matthew Breetzke walked into this Indian tour having opened for most of his short ODI life. Two matches in, he is South Africa’s leading run-scorer of the series while batting one drop lower, and the shift already feels more permanent than provisional.
Pushed to No.4 behind the established trio of Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock and captain Temba Bavuma, the right-hander struck a measured 63 in Raipur as the visitors reeled in 359 on Wednesday evening. The innings, his first half-century in India, has given him cause for quiet optimism.
“Obviously, I’m just getting more experience now batting at four, which I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in the role,” he said on the eve of Saturday’s deciding ODI in Visakhapatnam. “So that helps, and I think the more I play at number four and in this role, hopefully the better I’ll get.”
The two games so far have offered contrasting assignments. In Ranchi, South Africa collapsed early and required salvage work. In Raipur, a brisk start meant Breetzke could build rather than rebuild. He found the second scenario far more enjoyable.
“Obviously, the first game there was a little bit of trouble that we were in, so I had to sort of build the innings and then in the second game it was about just managing the guys that were coming in.
“We lost obviously Aiden [after his century] and then I had to sort of manage [Dewald] Brevis there and then just managing those guys and letting them bat around me, they’ve got the explosive power – it was just about really looking to build a partnership with them.”
That explosive power is the theme of every Proteas planning meeting at present. Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen and, lately, Corbin Bosch supply the late-over muscle, allowing the top order a shade more patience.
“I think we’ve got a nice balance in our side with a couple of guys that are just proper batters, and then you’ve got powerhouses like Brevis and [Marco] Jansen that can sort of change the game on its head.
“We’ve seen [Corbin] Bosh in the last two matches play some really special innings, I think as the top four, it gives you a lot of confidence; you can take a little bit more time because, you know, they’ve got that explosive power at the back end. So for us, it’s just about setting that platform up for them to come in at the end and do their thing.
“There’s a lot of confidence in the batting group at the moment, but we will have to do it again tomorrow.”
South Africa have not won a bilateral ODI series in India since 2015. A settled Breetzke at No.4 would make ending that wait a touch easier, but as he reminded reporters, the runs still have to be scored.
