South Africa’s Test captain Temba Bavuma expressed satisfaction with his team’s resurgence in the first Test against the West Indies in Trinidad. Due to persistent rain, only 15 overs were played on the first day before play was halted.
On the second day, the South African batsmen made significant progress, finishing at 344/8 with key contributions from Temba Bavuma (86) and Tony de Zorzi (78). They ultimately concluded their first innings at 357, thanks to vital lower-order contributions from David Bedingham (29), Ryan Rickleton (19), Kyle Verreynne (39), Wiaan Mulder (41), and Kagiso Rabada (21).
In response, the West Indies were dismissed for 233 in their first innings. Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and Mikyle Louis both scored 35, while Keacy Carty made 42 and Jason Holder contributed 36.
For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj took 4/76 and Kagiso Rabada claimed 3/56. In their second innings, South Africa were 30 without loss, holding a lead of 154 runs. Bavuma, reflecting on day four, highlighted his team’s strong comeback despite losing substantial playing time on the opening day due to rain.
Bowlers In Right Frame Of Mind: Temba Bavuma, South Africa Test Captain
“That was a quick transition for us. The weather wasn’t too great. Kudos to the umpires in their urgency to get a game. We had to get into a right frame of mind from a bowling point of view. Lovely stuff from Keshav and good support from the other bowlers. He can attack and take wickets. Other end, it becomes easier to use the pacers,” Temba Bavuma said.
Temba Bavuma further lauded performances from Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada the two senior players from the side. By taking his first wicket of the match, Rabada took his tally of wickets to 292 in Test cricket, and it helped him break former all-rounder Jacques Kallis’ record of 291 Test wickets that he picked up in 165 Test matches. Rabada is just playing his 62nd Test match having made his debut in 2015 against India.
“Aiden is more than capable with his spin as well. With Aiden, wanted to see what it was doing. He is one of the tallest spinners. KG was waiting and he did what he does with the new ball. Cracks starting to open up, that’s a good sign for the fourth innings.
“Hopefully we can get a full day, that’ll give us a realistic chance. We have to take care of the first hour and that’ll set it up. Then we can throw caution to the end and see what happens,” Temba Bavuma added further crediting his bowlers to make the match interesting.
The weather forecast for Trinidad this week is unfortunately quite bleak. As the Test match heads into its final day, thunderstorms are anticipated, with temperatures around 31 degrees Celsius. There is over a 55 percent chance of rain on the final day, making it highly likely that rain will disrupt play on day 5.
