As per latest reports, South Africa national cricket team captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the upcoming second and final test match of the series against the Indian national cricket team.
The Proteas captain could not contribute much in the first match of the Test series against Rohit Sharma & Co. in Centurion as his biggest contribution was going out to the toss, winning it and then choosing to field first.
He suffered a strained left hamstring in the first session of the game and missed the rest of the game. Notably, he injured his hamstring when he was running down the field to stop Virat Kohli’s shot off Marco Jansen.
He chased the ball and when he reached it, he grabbed his hamstring and appeared to be in severe pain. Temba Bavuma could not walk properly and the physiotherapist quickly came to check on her. The South Africa captain was removed from the field after the incident and leadership duties were taken over by former captain and veteran opener Dean Elgar.
Dean Elgar did an excellent job on the field in Bavuma’s absence and rotated his players very well. He showed his class in the field and then with the bat to fulfill his leadership responsibility very well.
Temba Bavuma was expected to come in to bat in the order in South Africa’s first innings as Marco Jansen inched towards his first ton. However, he did not come and the all-rounder was stranded on 84* off 147 balls as the Proteas lost their ninth wicket. Following that, Cricket South Africa (CSA) reached out to X to provide an update on the skipper.
“After ongoing medical evaluations, it was determined that there was too much risk of aggravating his left hamstring injury if he had come out to bat at this stage of the game. The medical team is managing him to give him the best opportunity to bat should he be needed in the fourth innings,” CSA stated.
🟢TEMBA AGREE TO UPDATE🟡
After continued medical evaluations, it was determined that there was too much risk of aggravating his left hamstring injury if he had gone out to bat at this stage of the game 🏏 🇿🇦
The medical team is caring for him to give him the best opportunity to… pic.twitter.com/Bx3bZVhUB3
– Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) December 28, 2023
Dean Elgar to lead South Africa in Temba Bavuma’s absence in second Test against India
South Africa did not require the batting services of Temba Bavuma at all in the match and he will not be able to participate in the next match either. He has reportedly been ruled out for the second match due to a hamstring strain.
In Bavuma’s absence, Dean Elgar will once again step up and assume leadership responsibility. The second Test will be played at Newlands in Cape Town from January 3-7, 2024, and will be a special occasion for Elgar to lead the Proteas as it will be his country’s last match in international cricket. Notably, Dean Elgar had announced his retirement before the India series.
Temba Bavuma will miss the second test due to a hamstring strain he suffered in Centurion, Dean Elgar will lead the team in Cape Town #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/MEud5niGTh
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 28, 2023
Talking about the first Test, South Africa once again crushed India’s hopes of winning their first Test series in Rainbow Nation by handing a massive one-innings, 32-run defeat to Rohit Sharma and company.
Batting first, India posted 245 runs on the board, riding on KL Rahul’s century. In reply, Dean Elgar scored a stupendous 185 to help his team register 408 runs on the board. In the next innings, the South African players destroyed the Indian batting line-up and defeated them for 131 runs.
Only Virat Kohli, who scored 76 runs, could perform well while the rest of the batsmen failed miserably. Furthermore, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger were exceptional in the match.
