Protea Skipper Temba Bavuma sheds light on his emotions after a close call during the first Test against Pakistan in January.
Temba Bavuma-led South Africa will take on Australia in the Final of the current cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). This marks the Proteas’ first-ever WTC Final, and will be played from June 11 onwards at Lord’s, the Home of Cricket.
South Africa qualified for the WTC 2025 Final on the back of a 2-0 series victory against Pakistan at home. However, their victory in the first Test at Centurion wasn’t an easy deal.
South Africa were chasing 148 on a tricky surface and were well placed at 96/4, when the then 34-year old mistakenly walked off when he shouldn’t have. He thought he had edged a ball to the keeper, but multiple replays showed that he hadn’t.
ALSO READ:
“I thought I’d nicked the ball. I was locked in the bathroom. I was taking a lot of blame because it was a critical situation for the team. As a leader, I wanted to take the guys over the line so I was dealing with lots of emotions”, the Protea skipper said in an interview.
After they lost their skipper, the team got reduced to 99/8 with 49 runs to win. To Bavuma and South Africa’s relief, a 51-run partnership between Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada stole the show, helping them win by two wickets.
The hosts then sealed the series, beating Pakistan by 10 wickets in the second Test at Cape Town and booking a WTC Final berth for the maiden time.
The Proteas are coming into the Final on the back of seven consecutive Test victories, and that should put them in good stead. Moreover, skipper Bavuma has led in nine Tests since 2023, and is yet to lose one. But eight members of the South African squad have never faced Australia, and have never played at the Lord’s.
However, the defending champions Australia have shown what they are capable of and will be in the mood to complete the double.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
