‘I don’t think he broke the rules’: Bavuma praises ‘clever’ De Kock

South Africa’s limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma believes that wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock was quite clever in his approach, with regards to the run out of Fakhar Zaman, despite the latter being accused of fake fielding during the second ODI against Pakistan.

A direct hit from long off, by Aiden Markram, ended Zaman’s fantastic innings of 193 runs off 155 balls as Pakistan fell 17-run short of South Africa’s 341/6 in 50 overs.

While completing the second run, Zaman thought the throw was going to the bowler’s end but the throw, instead, was at the keeper’s end which led to his dismissal. Meanwhile, De Kock faked a bit by pointing at the bowler as if the ball was going to him. This made Zaman slow down in his second run and contributed towards his departure from the crease.  

“It was quite clever from Quinny. Maybe some people might criticise it for maybe not being in the spirit of the game. But it was an important wicket for us. Zaman was getting close to our target. Yeah it was clever from Quinny,” Bavuma said after the match.

“You’ve always got to look for ways especially when things are not going your way, got to find ways to turn momentum around. Quinny did that – I don’t think he broke the rules in any kind of way. It was a clever piece of cricket,” he added.

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The third and final ODI is scheduled for Pretoria on Wednesday, with the series levelled at 1-1, but South Africa will be without leading players De Kock, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje as they head to the Indian Premier League.