Lack of oomph? Defiant Bavuma staying put as T20 opener: 'We need an anchor and it works'

You have to play with what you have.

That was Proteas T20 skipper Temba Bavuma's defiant, straight-bat answer to a question over whether his role as opener in the team is proving counter-productive.

The perceived issue reared its head again in Tuesday's 48-run loss to India in the 3rd T20 in Visakhapatnam, where the injury-enforced absence of Quinton de Kock meant South Africa lacked big-hitting power in its top order.

Bavuma, his temporary opening partner Reeza Hendricks and, to a lesser extent, Rassie van der Dussen are more known for being cultured stroke-makers than enforcers.

"Look, a guy like Quinton is a big player for us," he said.

"Unfortunately, we don't have him at our disposal at the moment. That's why we're backing Reeza. That's the squad we have at our disposal and what we've built.  

"When you lose, there's a lot of errors and problem areas that can be pointed out. We're always looking for stability at the top of the order, but with Quinton out, we haven't been able to."

READ | 'We didn't pitch up': Bavuma on T20 loss to India

Tellingly, should the left-handed De Kock be back in harness, he'll still have a familiar ally with him at the other end of the pitch.

"I'm the guy who'll pop up at the top with Quinton," said Bavuma.

"My team-mates understand my role within the team. We've got a lot of power players around me and they need someone who can keep it tight at the other end. 

"That's been my role and it's not going to change because I feel it's been successful for us over the last while and we'll keep going with it."

Speaking of not tinkering with tactics and selection, Bavuma also defended the Proteas' recipe of choosing to bowl first in all three matches of the series to date.

While a 2-1 series scoreline in South