Star batsman AB de Villiers expressed confidence on Monday that South Africa can rectify the problems which led to their defeat against Pakistan in the first Test last week.
Speaking ahead of the second Test starting in Dubai on Wednesday, the 29-year-old admitted South Africa were disappointed to lose by seven wickets in Abu Dhabi.
“The mood is good, we’ve moved on from the disappointing performance,” de Villiers said after training on Monday.
“Obviously we were hurt quite a bit after the Test, we haven’t played cricket like that in a long time and we were very, very disappointed.
“We’re finding ways to fix it and that’s the most important thing. We’ve looked at a few areas where we went wrong and we’re going to try and get it right.
“It’s a must-win game for us and we’re going in there with that attitude to win that game, we’re still the number one team in the world and we are going to play like it.”
South Africa slumped to 249 and 232 against Pakistan and failed to stop their rivals from putting up a mammoth 442 for a comfortable win.
To add to South Africa’s batting problems, first Test centurion Hashim Amla may not be available for the second Test as the reliable batsman returned home for the birth of his second child.
Left-hander Dean Elgar is likely to replace Amla.
Dale Steyn also suffered a back problem, but De Villiers believes the paceman will recover.
“He did tweak something in the fielding practice yesterday, but we think it’s not too serious, so we are just taking a good precaution and making sure he will be ready for the second Test,” he said.
South Africa may also look at their spin options, potentially promoting legspinner Imran Tahir for left-arm spinner Robin Peterson who finished wicket-less in the first Test.