Temba Bavuma's knock propelled the Proteas to a commanding first-innings total of 425/9 declared.
South African captain Temba Bavuma slammed 179 off 334 balls against Australia on Day 3 of the second Test in Gqeberha. Following a career-best knock, he credited childhood idol and Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar as his technical blueprint.
Facing a formidable Australian pace attack (Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland), Bavuma explained that his shorter stature (5 feet 3 inches) requires compact footwork, balanced weight transfer, and playing the ball close to the body rather than relying on large, sweeping strides.
Walking in at 12-2 on Day 1, Bavuma anchored the side, building vital partnerships with Marco Jansen (85) and Simon Harmer (82) to guide the Proteas to a commanding first-innings total of 425/9 declared.
“I try to emulate his technique,” Bavuma said after the close of play on Tuesday (October 20). “I’m obviously not a big guy. I’m not really going to get any big strides in. I try to be efficient in terms of my movement. Sometimes it gets me into trouble. But I think for me, that’s generally what works. I try to play the ball as close to my body as possible.”
Australia ended their brief period at the crease on the third day struggling at 3/1, trailing South Africa by 422 runs.
Bavuma is preparing his team mentally to bowl heavily over the remaining two days, hoping the new ball strikes effectively and that the pitch breaks up enough by Day 5 for Harmer's spin to become a primary weapon to force a series-leveling victory.
“Part of our plan was to keep them in the field for as long as we can. I think that paid off … being able to bowl and get that wicket there. If we’re going to get on the right side of the result, we’re going to have to spend the majority of those two days out there on the field. So I think mentally for us it is to prepare for that overnight,” Bavuma stated.
“There’s still something there in the wicket, especially with that new ball. If we can get the ball in the right place for a considerable amount of time, anything can happen. Hopefully on day five, the spin comes into play as well and Simon can be a lot more of a threat. We obviously want to go for the win and we’ll do as much as we can to bring that to life,” he remarked.