Matthew Breetzke arrives in Visakhapatnam as South Africa’s leading run-scorer of the tour, a useful statistic given the series is locked at 1-1. The right-hander, once a fixture at the top of the order, has been asked to bat at No.4 behind Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram. It is a different brief, yet the early evidence is encouraging. His 73 not out under lights in Raipur steered a chase of 359 and kept the visitors in the hunt.
“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 match-eve. “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 previous fixtures offered contrasting scenarios. In Ranchi, Breetzke walked in at 34 for 3 and had to rebuild. In Raipur, the platform was firmer thanks to Markram’s century, so the task was more about pacing a tall pursuit.
“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,” he explained.
“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.”
South Africa’s middle-to-lower order, on paper at least, offers depth and muscle. Brevis, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch can all clear the ropes, while Bavuma and Markram lend stability.
“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,” Breetzke noted.
“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.”
The 26-year-old is realistic, aware that form can be fleeting and India’s attack will adjust. “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. Should Breetzke continue his calm assimilation at No.4, that statistic may finally shift.
