South African captain Temba Bavuma admitted the tough times bring the best out of him after he played a magnum opus knock of 179 runs in the first innings of the second Test match against Australia at St George’s Park, Gqeberha.
Rain had taken out 137 overs out of the first two days but Bavuma stood out for the hosts in difficult conditions. SA was under the cosh at 110-6 but Bavuma and Marco Jansen added 132 runs off 185 balls to keep the hosts in the contest.
The South African captain then added 183 runs off 277 balls with Simon Harmer. Eventually, the Proteas declared after posting a par score of 425-9 in the first innings.
“Everything was in the bowlers’ favour [when he came to the crease]; the overheads, the pitch,” Bavuma told a press conference. “We had lost two early wickets.”
“I’ve found myself in those situations a number of times. It seems to bring out the best in me. From an approach point of view it wasn’t any different. I’ve always gone about it like that – got myself stuck in.
“I pride myself on getting the team into a competitive position. What was different, more from a personal point of view, was that this time I was able to put up a score.”
Meanwhile, Marco Jansen was able to hit the ground running in challenging conditions and played with an aggressive approach. The lanky all-rounder scored 85 runs off 100 balls.
“Marco took the bowlers on,” Bavuma said. “He was able to find the middle of the bat and the gaps in the field. Simon applied himself. They put a high price on their wickets.”
Bavuma disagreed when asked if conditions were easier to bat on Tuesday: “I wouldn’t say it was easier to bat. From a mindset point of view, for me nothing really changed. I was always trying to be as tight as I could and trying to hit the ball as straight as I could. And to extend that gameplan for as long as I could.
“I never really felt in. Every now and then a ball would of jump off a length or nip around. But once the ball got a bit soft you did feel a little bit more comfortable.”
Australia are struggling at 84-7 in their first innings on day four.
