When Temba Bavuma went out to bat on Day 3 of the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia on Friday, the odds were firmly against him and his side.
South Africa batting chief Ashwell Prince said captain Temba Bavuma was approaching a "defining moment" in his career after the batter's gutsy innings on Friday helped take the Proteas to the brink of World Test Championship final glory against Australia at Lord's.
Aiden Markram's superb century on Friday left South Africa on the brink of a dramatic victory in the World Test Championship final against Australia after decades of heartbreak in major tournaments.
Mitchell Starc starred with bat and ball to leave Australia well-placed in their World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's on Friday.
South Africa fought back at the start of the second day of the World Test Championship final against Australia but had captain Temba Bavuma dismissed before going to lunch on 121-5, still trailing by 91 runs.
The Ultimate Test nears closer as the two best teams, South Africa and Australia, do battle for the World Test Championship mace from 11 June.
The two former Trophy champions meet for the first time in the event's history in Rawalpindi today (3pm, Bangladesh Time), having each won their first games in Group B.
Captain Temba Bavuma hailed what he termed South Africa’s brave decision to bat first in their comprehensive 107-run Champions Trophy win over Afghanistan on Friday as they mastered a Karachi wicket that had left both teams unsure over how it would play.
Only once before in their history have South Africa won more Tests in succession, when they claimed nine victories on the trot between 2002 and 2003.
“I was still sulking in the toilet. There were not a lot of conversations. We still had the confidence. I did not come out to the viewing area and was in the toilet. I came when 15 runs were needed,” Bavuma laughed.
Five Test wins in a row, made up of away victories over West Indies in Guyana in August, two in Bangladesh in October and two more over Sri Lanka, means South Africa top the table of Test results over the last two-year cycle and are within touching distance of a place in the final at Lord’s from June 11-15.
A clean sweep of the two-match series against Sri Lanka, which starts at Kingsmead on Wednesday, and the two tests with Pakistan from Dec 26, would put South Africa into June’s final at Lord’s.
A major inclusion in the side sees full-time skipper Temba Bavuma return as skipper, having recovered from a left elbow injury, which ruled him out of the recent series in Bangladesh.
Aiden Markram will replace Temba Bavuma as South Africa captain for the first Test against Bangladesh later this month, Cricket South Africa said on Friday.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma will miss the third and final one-day international against Ireland in Abu Dhabi on Monday and is a doubt to lead the Test team on a two-match tour of Bangladesh that starts on Oct. 21.
Bavuma's determined 86 and a more enterprising 78 from de Zorzi were linchpins in the Proteas' effort on a benign surface offering little for the bowlers but also made free scoring difficult because of its two-paced nature.
Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the final Test of the series against India, Cricket South Africa confirmed after the conclusion of the first game on Thursday. Bavuma sustained an injury while fielding on Day 1 of the Test match and as a result, played no further part in the game after scans revealed a hamstring strain.
Bavuma opened the innings in the World Cup but averaged only 18.12 across his eight games with a high score of 35
"A lot of people believe that this could be the year that we see ourselves in the final," Bavuma, who remains doubtful to play the semi-final due his hamstring injury, told reporters.
