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As wickets kept tumbling from one end, captain Temba Bavuma stood tall, holding one end and South Africa's innings strongly as he braved a difficult track at the Eden Gardens, which tested the defence of the best of batters. Temba means hope, and hope he was for South Africa. On a pitch that had the ball turning viciously and an unpredictable bounce, Bavuma batted better than all others to keep his side's hopes of winning alive.
Bavuma's gritty knock eventually turned out to be the difference between the two sides, helping South Africa etch history with a win that will be remembered in the years to come. Led by their captain, the Proteas bagged their first Test victory on Indian soil in 15 years, laying the platform for what can spiral into a historic Test series victory if they manage to make it two in two in Guwahati.
But that is for later. On Sunday, it was all about Bavuma and his men. A man who has constantly defied scutiny, surrounding his physical appearance more than his game, and a team that has constantly battled an unwanted tag that they finally managed to get rid of after claiming their maiden ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title earlier this year.
Bavuma, who has often stood out among the rest for his sheer calmness and his passion for the game, was singled out for all the wrong reasons when the Kolkata Test got underway last week. On the opening day of the Test match, Bavuma was referred to as 'bauna' on the stump mic after Jasprit Bumrah managed to get through his defence early in South Africa's first innings.
The appeal never materialised, but Bumrah's comments on the stump mic blew up. A clip of the incident was all over social media as many joined the mockery, highlighting how cruel the game can be. Bavuma had little idea of what was spoken about him, and neither did he need to know. The South Africa captain was focused on the job at hand.
His response came with the bat in his side's second innings. With South Africa reeling at 75/6 at one stage in their bid to set up a formidable target for India, it was Bavuma who gave them a lease of life and took them past the 150-run mark. The South Africa captain ground his way to a brilliant unbeaten 55 off 136 balls, showing others how to bat on a surface that had batters struggling for every run.
Bavuma became the only half-centurion in the game and finished with the highest individual score. He also shared the highest partnership in the Test match, adding 44 runs for the 8th wicket with Corbin Bosch (25) in South Africa's second innings. The duo's stand took the Proteas to 153 in their second innings, helping them set a target of 124 runs for India that eventually turned out to be a match-winning one.
Mocked for his height, Bavuma became the toast of the crowd at the Eden Gardens. The South Africa captain, who was mocked for his height, had the entire crowd on its feet and applauding his knock after he completed his fifty on the treacherous track. As he soaked in the applause, a rare moment for a visiting batter in India, Bavuma also proved why true height is not measured in mere feet, but in the stature of the person.
South Africa's head coach, Shukri Conrad, gave an insight into Bavuma's thought process and his secret to success as he lauded the Proteas captain for standing tall on a track that had batters graping for breath.
"He was clear on how he wanted to bat, and that went against the grain of everybody else in the match. That was the difference between the two sides, Temba's innings," Conrad told reporters in the post-match press conference.
Despite his brave knock, India would have felt confident of chasing down 124. But many seemed to have undermined how good Bavuma was with his defence en route to his fifty. India's epic collapse to get bundled out for 93 rightfully brought the spotlight back on the South Africa captain, who deserved every bit of praise for finishing the game as the only batter with a fifty to his name.
Having stamped his authority in the series, Bavuma will be hoping to rewrite history by leading South Africa to their first Test series victory in India in 26 years.
