South Africa might have already pocketed the ODI series against India with back-to-back wins, but their all-rounder Ryan McLaren said that his side will not take their feet off the pedal and will play with the same intensity in the third and final match here tomorrow.
McLaren said winning the three-match ODI series has given the psychological advantage to his side going into the Test series which begins on December 18.
"We thought our intensity might drop after the first match, but it was not so. We will definitely not let that happen here either. We are not a team looking for fear in the eyes of the opposition, but at the same time, we want to bowl aggressively and with energy," McLaren said at the match-eve press conference.
"We have kept up the intensity throughout and psychologically, we have made inroads going into the Test series," he said.
McLaren suggested that the insipid show by the Indians so far could be due to their inability to adapt quickly to the conditions. He, at the same time, emphasised that the home batters and bowlers have done a fine job.
"The Indians are a world class side and ranked number one in the ODIs for a good reason. It is only a matter of adapting to the conditions. But we should not neglect the fact that our batsmen have batted well and our bowlers have taken early wickets against the top-three in the Indian line-up," he asserted.
McLaren praised his bowling partner and tearaway fast bowler Dale Steyn for setting the tempo in the ODI series. He talked about the Proteas' bowling unit's adaptability, playing with and without Steyn this past year and how they 'feed off him' when he is back in the eleven.
"He bowls with great pace and works up some good aggression. Obviously we feed off his energy. Dale has not been playing ODIs all year round. As a bowling unit we have adapted to playing without him," he said about his senior team-mate.
