Despite sore hamstring, captain Temba Bavuma keeps his end of bargain in WTC final | Cricket News

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The South African pair Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram watched on curiously when the umpires changed the ball after constant imploring from the Australian fielders.

The ball-change was perhaps the last ray of hope for the defending champions, living on the edge, their crown shaking.

Often in these shores, a change of ball could result in change of fortune. Not this evening though, as Bavuma and Markram clung on tenaciously to guide them to 213 for 2 at stumps, just 69 runs short of scripting the most famous moment in their country’s cricket.

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Except that they cannot take the victory for granted and relax in the morning. It’s touching distance, yet distant. The Australians are heist-artistes, and the history of these grand two cricketing nations would offer lessons of caution and premature celebrations. On Saturday, the clouds could acquire a menacing tone and connive with Australia’s deathly seam-bowling triumvirate. But Friday was bright and sunny, and South Africa batted without much ado. Lateral movement was negligible, the ball lost its shine and sting fast and purposeful South African batsmen batted gleefully, motoring along with a steady clip of boundaries.

Bavuma’s grit

If Markram was the axis, Bavuma was thumping heart, the embodiment of their grit and fight. Their unbroken 143-stand could be the most valuable partnership in their history, a coming-of-age moment after several heartbreaks. It was as much about the individuals as the team’s collective spirit. The target of 282 was daunting, even if the conditions were more benevolent than it was on the first two days. There was the pressure of the final and the burden of the past, the fearsome Australian bowlers and the wicked ways of fate. But nothing mattered to Bavuma’s men. “The chase took away the fear of failure,” observed Wiaan Mulder, whose steely 61-run association with Markram was as important as the Bavuma-Markram stand in the broader context of the game.

Fear of failure has scripted several South African meltdowns. Not this time. Not when they started the chase of what could be the second highest successful run-chase on the hallowed turf positively, not when they lost Ryan Rickleton with the score on nine via a sublime piece of Starc’s trickery, and not when Australia last pair combined 59 runs for the last wicket to reawaken the old ghosts of squandering advantageous positions. But this was a South African brigade willing to tear the old chapters.

Festive offer

The plaudits would be showered on Markram, for his breathtaking strokes and unwavering composure. But Bavuma’s 65 from 121 balls was equally paramount in the context. He batted through crushing physical pain after pulling a hamstring during the 22nd overs. He grimaced when he ran, turned down otherwise straightforward opportunities to run doubles or triples, slumped to the ground during breaks, writhed in pain at times. But he would not surrender. He would not retire hurt, he would not throw his wicket away, but channelled all his energy into facing the next ball as practically as he could.

The injury did not shackle him. He executed several gorgeous strokes, none more delectable than the straight drive off Pat Cummins in the 33rd over. Apart from the edge Steve Smith dropped at an advanced first slip, as edges had been recurrently falling short of the slips-men, when he was on two, he was flawless. His judiciousness was exemplary as he resisted the impulses to attack wantonly. Neither did he retreat into a shell of negativity.

He and Markram took the pitch out of the equation. The surface was bereft of the moisture it had on the first two days, thanks to the blazing sun. But it was slow, some deliveries stopped like the one from Starc that consumed Wiaan Mulder. The odd ball leapt off the surface, Nathan Lyon turned one square. But they kept every strain of negativity from their minds, committed fully to the cause of winning the game.

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Starc and Co would return for one last tilt, pouring every ounce of their sweat and skill, at redirecting the game’s destiny on Saturday morning. Bavuma and Markram would be more than aware of the game’s fickle manners, and there are 69 runs more runs between them and the promised land. It could be a stroll, or a stutter.





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