"We have to turn the mirror on ourselves" - South Africa batting coach JP Duminy after shocking ODI series loss to Afghanistan

South Africa batting coach JP Duminy has been candid about his team's performance following a shock ODI series defeat to Afghanistan. Duminy admitted that the Proteas couldn't pick the opposition's best spinner, Rashid Khan.

Afghanistan took an unassailable 2-0 lead by winning the second ODI at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, with South African batters struggling in both games. They failed to cross 200 as the Afghan bowlers were ruthless, bundling them out for totals of 106 and 134.

Ahead of the third and final ODI on Sunday, Duminy said, as quoted by SA Cric Mag:

"We find ourselves in a position where we’re coming up against one of the best spinners in the world and, at times, guys found themselves in tricky situations where they didn’t pick him. We have to turn the mirror on ourselves and ask how we are going to get better."

South African batters have struggled against spinners and pacers alike. Left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi and Allah Ghazanfar sparked their batting collapse in the opening ODI. The second game saw Rashid Khan take a fifer as the Proteas lost 10 wickets for 61 runs.

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"When you’re indecisive in your movements, that’s where you can be caught off guard" - JP Duminy

Duminy added that too many batters have resorted to half measures as he explained:

"There is no running away from a situation like this. We were well below par in both games. When you’re indecisive in your movements, then that’s where you can be caught off guard, and that’s where we find ourselves."

Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, will target a clean sweep, which will be unprecedented if they achieve it. The sub-continent nation has had a dream year, beating top sides like New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh en route the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals.