IND vs SA: Temba Bavuma Feels Not Playing Test Cricket For A While Have Impacted South Africa's Performance In India vs South Africa 1st Test

South Africa player Temba Bavuma feels that not playing Test cricket for a while has impacted the team’s performance in ongoing India vs South Africa 1st Test. His words arrive after South Africa faced a poor batting show against India in the ongoing 1st Test.

After India posted 327-10 in the first innings, South Africa could only reach 197 before losing all of their wickets. The home side witnessed a top-order collapse, as they lost 4 wickets for just 32 runs at the start of their batting. Later, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma managed to put some runs on the board, with their knocks of 34 and 52 respectively and a 72-run stand for the 5th wicket.

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Also Read: IND vs SA: India Were Slightly Overconfident- Shaun Pollock On India’s Batting Collapse On Day 3

Not Playing Test Cricket For A While Does Have An Impact: Temba Bavuma

While speaking to a virtual press conference, limited-over captain Temba Bavuma said that the team performance has been affected due to not playing Test cricket for a while.

“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. 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 said.

Temba Bavuma also praised Mohammed Shami for his bowling in the match, who picked a five-wicket haul for India. He also said that Indian bowlers managed to exploit the conditions well.

“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”, Temba Bavuma further said.

India scored 327-10 in the 1st innings with a 123-run knock by KL Rahul. In response, South Africa were bundled out for 197. Mohammed Shami scalped 5 wickets while Jasprit Bumrah and Shardul Thakur hunted 2 scalps to crush the home’s team batting. Mohammed Siraj also got 1 wicket to his name.

Also Read: Mohammed Shami Becomes 5th Indian Fast Bowler, Overall 11th Indian Bowler To Pick 200 Test Wickets

In the 2nd innings, India lost Mayank Agarwal cheaply at the start. KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur currently stay on the crease with unbeaten 5 and 4 runs respectively. With 16-1 on the scoreboard and a 130-run lead after the 1st innings, India lead by 146 runs in the match.

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