Amidst trolls, Temba Bavuma stands tall every time he leads South Africa

Hailing from Langa, a small township outside Cape Town, 35-year-old Temba Bavuma has taken world cricket by storm. Doing the unthinkable, the star man led the Proteas to their first ICC title in years when he defeated Australia in the World Test Championship final. 

Now leading a World Champion South Africa side, Bavuma continues to maintain his dominance in the longest format of the game. Often trolled, often put down by his opponents, Bavuma has defined the true meaning of resilience and continues to rise from the ashes to prove the critics wrong. 

It is worth noting that Bavuma has led South Africa in 11 Test matches so far; in the 11 games, he has been excellent as a batter. In the 11 matches, he has played 19 innings, where he has amassed 969 runs to his name. He maintains an average of 57 runs, with a strike rate of 52.89. 

Furthermore, he has hit three centuries and six half-centuries in 19 innings and continues to dominate the field whenever he comes out to bat. He has the highest score of 172 runs as a captain as well, which is also his career best.

How has Bavuma’s side fared under his captaincy? 

Speaking of his captaincy record, Temba Bavuma has been a force of nature. Having led the Proteas in 11 Test matches, the star batter has led his side to 10 victories. Losing just one game speaks volumes about the influence and momentum that the star batter has helped South Africa achieve. 

His most recent heroics came against India. He led South Africa to a historic victory in the first Test of the ongoing multi-format series against India. The two sides took on each other at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 14-16, and after a back-and-forth tussle between the two sides, it was South Africa who managed to register a 30-run win in the first Test of the series.