South Africa vs Australia 2018: 4th Test, Day 2, Talking points

#4 Bavuma stranded on 95

Bavuma batted really well for his unbeaten knock of 95

Temba Bavuma has had an average Test career thus far. However, he battled it out in the absence of star batsmen like AB de Villiers and JP Duminy. He stood up and fought hard against quality bowling attacks.

However, he has had a tough time since the start of 2018. With AB de Villiers coming back to Test cricket and South Africa opting for a five-bowler theory, Bavuma was dropped. He then got injured and missed out on the first two Tests against Australia. But he was drafted in place of Theunis de Bruyn in the third Test in Cape Town. He failed in both innings as the lack of match practice was evident.

But he silenced his critics in style in this fourth Test. Coming in to bat at 247/4 (when South Africa had lost two wickets in two balls), Bavuma looked solid. South Africa further slipped to 299/6 and it looked like they would be bowled out for under 350. But Bavuma was in total command.

He took time to settle down but once he found his fluency he was a treat to watch. Bavuma drove very well, used his feet against Lyon and also handled the short ball well. He got his 10th Test fifty and was set to get his 2nd Test ton but Maharaj and Morkel got out of consecutive deliveries to leave Bavuma stranded on 95.

Nevertheless, it was an excellent knock which took South Africa close to 500.