South Africa cricket captain Temba Bavuma on Monday hailed his country's Springboks rugby stars as "inspirational" after their nail-biting World Cup win over France.
The Springboks edged the hosts 29-28 in an epic quarterfinal in Paris on Sunday night to move closer to a fourth world title.
𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 🫂
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 16, 2023
A performance that inspired a nation 👏 🇿🇦
Congratulations to the @bokrugby as they march onto semi-finals against England 🏴#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/rrFR4hJmVe
The game ended around 02:30 Monday morning in Dharamsala where Bavuma's team are based ahead of their Cricket World Cup clash with the Netherlands on Tuesday.
"I'm still trying to wake up from the late night," admitted Bavuma.
"Incredible game. Inspirational the way the guys went about their business. I think the intensity that the game was played at from the first minute till the last, I think that's one thing that the guys kept speaking about.
"Obviously happy, as they were able to get over the line. But yeah, incredible, inspirational game."
Bavuma will hope to channel that inspiration as his team seek an elusive maiden global cricket crown.
South Africa have yet to reach a Cricket World Cup final, falling at the semifinal stage on three occasions.