Brave decision to bat first not knowing how pitch would play: Bavuma

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma said batting first on the National Stadium pitch here was a "brave decision" and commended his players for doing good assessment of the wicket in their Champions Trophy opener against Afghanistan on Friday. The Proteas scored a massive 315/6 before dismissing their opponents for 208 runs to begin their campaign in the marquee ICC event with a 107-run victory. Bavuma, who himself contributed 58 runs, added that the pitch here reminded him of the surfaces prepared back home.

"Clinical performance. We got the rub of the green with the toss but it was a brave decision to bat first not knowing how it would play. We took care of that, got a competitive score and then were clinical with the ball," said Bavuma, who enjoyed a 129-run partnership with opener Ryan Rickelton (103), which helped South Africa amass the big total.

"All in all, close to our best performance. The wicket looked different. Closer to a wicket back home. The batters do their assessment and then do what needs to be done. Lots of crack, a bit of variable bounce but assessing a good score was tricky," he added.

He said that South Africa's bowling plan was to hit the deck hard and in the right areas, adding that it was now time to concentrate on tougher opponents.

"The guys at the back end felt that it was tough (to score) in a good area or shorter. Our thinking was to hit the pitch hard and see what happens. We'll enjoy the win but then start gearing up for what we need to do against Australia." Player of the Match, Rickelton, who scored his maiden ODI ton, said his initial assessment of the pitch was that it would play tough but it behaved nicely.

"Bit of a different one, I was quite nervous coming in. My first proper ICC event. To contribute to the team and set us up for a win is something I'm very chuffed with.

"We thought it (pitch) would be tacky upfront but it played all right. Bounce was a bit inconsistent but you adjust accordingly. Thought we could have pushed a bit harder but Aiden (Markram) played a great knock at the back there to get a competitive total," he said.

He was, however, disappointed with his run out. Rickelton flicked back to the bowler after dancing down the crease. Rashid Khan fired a throw at the South African, who ducked and dived to get back to safety only to see the keeper whip off the bails.

"Disappointed to get out, especially in that manner. Said I thought Rash (Rashid) threw it at my head." Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi was visibly unhappy with his team's batting, adding that the toss played a crucial role in the match.' "I think the batting was not good enough today. The pitch was helping them in the second innings. But we did well in the bowling but not so good in the first 20 overs.

"The toss was important, it was not a typical Karachi pitch. Their bowlers bowled well too. We have achieved a lot coming to this tournament. We have the ability to fight but we didn't play the way we wanted." (PTI)