Is Temba Bavuma the New Pat Cummins When it Comes to Silencing the Crowd?
Temba Bavuma has been the man who breaks the jinx for the South African team. He continues to make 2025 a year to be remembered in the history of the game. Continuing his impressive record, he led the Proteas to win a series in India after 25 years.
Temba Bavuma has been the man who breaks the jinx for the South African team. He continues to make 2025 a year to be remembered in the history of the game. Continuing his impressive record, he led the Proteas to win a series in India after 25 years.
Every team needs a captain who is able to break their long awaited trophy wins in the game. And for South Africa, a number of captains came and gave their best for the same. But it was Temba Bavuma who outshined them all, and broke up for the South African team.
He became the first South African captain to win an ICC title in the 21st century. That was not just enough for Bavuma, as he decided to achieve more than any other captain had done in the Test format. He went on to lead the Proteas to win a Test series in India for the first time in 25 years, breaking another jinx for them.
1. Winning the WTC
In the 21st century, South Africa had not won any of the ICC titles. The team was strong enough to make it to the knockout stages of the tournament. But they were never able to win the finals or the semi-final stages, leading to several heartbreaks for them. Temba Bavuma decided to end all the sufferings with just one win.
Bavuma started to lead South Africa in the World Test Championship, and helped the team to secure consistent wins. He helped them to win consecutive Test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which pushed them in the WTC Standings. Eventually, the team finished at the top of the table, and had to face Australia in the finals.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
Going against the defending champions was definitely not an easy task for South Africa. But they had a new captain, Temba Bavuma by their side. The final match was being played at The Lord's, as Australia was batting first in this game. The South African bowlers were able to give a good start, bowling Australia all out for just 212.
But in response to the same, South Africa was bundled all out for just 138 runs. Australia started their second innings with a 74 runs lead, and went on to score 207 runs in their second innings. Now, South Africa had to chase down the target of 282 runs at the tough conditions of The Lord's in the 21st century.
The team stood at the score of 70/2, but Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram led them almost to the win. Bavuma went on to score 66 runs, as Aiden Markram smashed 136 runs in the final clash. This helped South Africa to win the World Test Championship final by 5 wickets. The team also got its first ICC title in 27 years, under the captaincy of Temba Bavuma.
2. Historic Series Win in India
After South Africa had ended its ICC title jinx, the team still continued its dominance in the Test format. They had gone against India in a two-match Test series, which was hosted by India itself. Before this series, South Africa had not won even a single series in India since their
But the team started off with a magnificent win against India in the first Test at the Eden Gardens. They were able to defeat India by 30 runs, while defending the target of 124. This was the best chase done by any team in the Test format against India in India. With this win, Temba Bavuma and his company had to prevent India from winning the second Test for the series win.
And they were able to do it, with the second match being at Guwahati. South Africa was able to score 489 runs in the first innings of the game. Following this, they even restricted India to just 201 runs, and decided to bat yet again, not giving India a follow on in the match. They went on to score 260 runs for the loss of 5 wickets, giving India a of 549.
The target was a lot more challenging than expected, as India ended up being bowled out for 140. South Africa won the game by 408 runs, handing India its biggest defeat in home tests. Along with that, Temba Bavuma was able to lead South Africa to its first ever Test series win in India after 25 years.
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