Temba Bavuma said that South Africa aren’t being “too loud” about their chances of going through to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). On Saturday, November 30, the Proteas moved to second in the table with a point’s percentage of 59.26 thanks to wins in five out of nine matches.
Bavuma and Co. defeated Sri Lanka by 233 runs in the opening Test at the Kingsmead in Durban to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The captain said that the Proteas only want to focus on what’s in their control rather than scratching their heads over external factors.
“The conversation [about WTC] has been there, we are not too loud about it. It will come. Our focus needs to be more internally, what we have been doing as a team and control that, let whatever happens happen,” Bavuma said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Against Sri Lanka, South Africa found themselves in deep trouble after being bowled out for 191 in their first innings. But once they bowled the visitors out for 42 on the back of Marco Jansen’s five-wicket haul, they did not look back. Later, Tristan Stubbs and Bavuma scored twin hundreds, after which the bowlers came to the party again.
“Tough cricket out there, quite happy with the result. We were in a tough position, knew we had to dig deep. We spoke about getting in a comfortable position and were able to do so. Got a good partnership in the first innings and that helped,” Bavuma added.
With four wins on the trot under their belt, the Proteas have a great chance of claiming the top spot in the WTC table. Their victory in Durban also meant that Australia dropped to third in the table.
