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South Africa's ICC World Test Championship (WTC) winning skipper Temba Bavuma spoke on winning the title for his side and battling through a hamstring injury to play a match-winning knock of 66 runs and striking a partnership with centurion Aiden Markram.
Bavuma's men scripted history in June this year at Lord's as Markram's stroke-filled 207-ball 136 and skipper's resillient, gutsy 66 despite an injury took South Africa to their first major world title in any format of cricket, chasing down 282 runs against defending champions Australia. The trophy did not come easily to them, as right from their re-admission to cricket in 1992, South Africa faced numerous heartbreaks at ICC events. Sometimes, as was the case in the 1992 WC semifinal against England, it was the rain; sometimes, it was the nerves. Nonetheless, the 'Chokers' tag kept following Proteas like a ghost, despite the immense talent pool they were blessed with. Just before the WTC final, SA had lost to India in the T20 World Cup 2024 final by seven runs and endured a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the WC 2023 semifinal in India. Except for a Champions Trophy win back in 1998, their trophy cabinet stayed empty. Speaking during the CEAT Cricket Ratings Awards in Mumbai, Bavuma said that his injury was no different from many others he had had at different points in his career, but he wanted to be in a situation where he took the team towards victory. He also lauded Markram for his knock, while expressing satisfaction over his "brave" decision to stay and partner Markram in what was a tricky chase. "I have had my fair share of injuries over the last while. So, I guess it was nothing different from within the game itself, but obviously, the context of the game. I think where the game was as well, it was obvious that we were in a delicate position, having a score to chase down, being one of the senior batters within the team, and being the leader of the team, you want to make sure that in those situations that you are leading the team to where you want to be." "So yeah, when my hamstring, when my hammy went, I guess there was always this decision to kind of walk off and let the other guys do the job. But you know, like I said, you want to be the guy that takes it to the end." "And Aiden and I, you know, we kind of, we had the sense that that's where the game was, you know, in our partnership with us. And I think for me, you know, in whatever physical state that I was in, it was to try and support him as much as I could. He was obviously seeing the ball moving well, hitting the ball nicely. I think for me, it was just to make sure that I'm there with him. But yeah, I mean, I am glad I took the decision, the brave decision. Sometimes you have to be brave in those special situations. And I am glad that time I had the presence of mind to take the harder decision," he concluded. During the award ceremony, Bavuma took home the 'Exemplary Leadership' award. He top-scored for South Africa in the WTC 2023-25 cycle with 711 runs in eight Tests at an average of 59.25, with two centuries and five fifties in 13 innings. (ANI)
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