World Cup 2019: 'Change room hurting, guys are low', reveals Du Plessis after 3rd straight loss

After conceding their third consecutive defeat, Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that the environment in the dressing room is not great and his team is low on confidence

South Africa failed to return to winning ways on Wednesday when they faced Indian at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in Southampton. Opting to bat, South Africa never got going and were blown away by the Indian bowling attack—spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal—and were restricted to 227. In reply, Rohit Sharma carried the bat and helped the men-in-blue chasing down the target with 15 balls to spare. After conceding their third consecutive defeat in the marquee event, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has admitted that the environment in the dressing room is not great and his team is low on confidence. “We started well with the ball again, but some great batting by Rohit, a bit of luck, and he did what we didn't do—got a hundred, and saw the innings through. The change-room is hurting; the guys are a little down. But we are still fighting,” said du Plessis.

#FafDuPlessis "The guys are a little bit down. It's a change room that is hurting. We're trying to make sure that we keep fighting. Small things, we're making mistakes all the time. Today was once again a great example of someone not batting through." 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/2ZXSABLoEa

— SuperSport🏏 (@SuperSportTV) June 5, 2019

Unlike Rohit Sharma who batted throughout the innings and anchored the chase for India with his unbeaten 122, South Africa didn't have a single half-century, a fact which Du Plessis admitted cost them the game. “We are making mistakes all the time—today the mistake was one guy not batting through the innings. That's what you need in England. You have to set a good total for your bowlers to defend and to have so many 30s and 40s is not acceptable at a World Cup,” said du Plessis. However, South Africa were extremely disciplined with their bowling and didn't allow the Men in Blue to take away the game from the start. Both Rabada and Morris bowled on great areas and kept the Indian batsmen on their feet. “Morris who hasn't played too much recently for us, was excellent today, bowling with pace and good control and even got 40-odd runs today. They were the two stand-out performers today—Morris and Rabada,” said the Proteas captain. South Africa next play West Indies in a must-win game on Monday.