‘Mohammed Shami is a world-class bowler’ - Temba Bavuma lauds India pacer for picking five-wicket haul in Centurion

After dominating the first day, the Indian batting witnessed one of the worst collapses in the recent past on day three. India started the day with 272 runs for the loss of three wickets on the board. But, they were bundled out in less than 15 overs for just 327 runs.

The Indian bowlers came out with full force against the South African batting lineup. None of the Proteas batter apart from Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock had any clue against the bowling. Bavuma scored 52 runs while de Kock mustered 34 runs before South Africa were bowled out for 197 runs conceding a lead of 130 runs in the first innings. Mohammed Shami picked a five-wicket haul and also picked his 200th wicket in Test cricket.

During the press conference at the end of day three, Bavuma praised the way Shami bowled. He also mentioned that the Indian bowlers were able to exploit the conditions in South Africa.

“Shami is a world-class bowler, we have seen him do it around the world so I do not think it is something we did not expect. As batters we have to front up and back our defence as much as we can. If he bowls a good ball, credit to him. Indian bowlers were able to exploit the conditions, especially led by Shami. We want to cut out the soft dismissals,” Bavuma said.

Bavuma laments lack of Test cricket this year

Bavuma also pointed out that not playing Test matches for a while has also had a huge impact on South Africa’s approach in this game. The Proteas played a total of five matches before coming into this match and their last game was against West Indies in June 2021.

“I do not want to be accused of making excuses for our play but not playing Test cricket for a while does have an impact. If you look at the way we played on the first day, I do not believe that is the standard and the intensity that we can play at. And one of the factors is the lack of match practice. You can have as many nets as you want, but nothing simulates going out in the middle,” said Bavuma.

“There is not much we can do as players, but there is that disparity in the number of games. We have to find a way mentally to meet the challenge,” he added.