South Africa could have suffered a major blow when captain Temba Bavuma left the field after picking up an injury. The first match of the two-match Test series between the Proteas and India will take place at the Supersport Park in Centurion.
South Africa They have been nothing short of exceptional with the ball in the current game. They have made the Indian batsmen dance to their tunes and made them work hard. While they have seemed like a class apart so far, the fear of injury has come back to haunt them.
Captain Teamba Bavuma took the hit when his team dealt a blow. It was during the fourth ball of the 20th over that Marco Jansen bowled a full delivery to Virat Kohli from off stump. The batsman clipped it through extra cover on the way.
Temba Bavuma, who was parked halfway, gave chase. While he was running, he damaged his hamstrings and in the middle of his sprint he was seen limping. He caught the ball in pain and then the physios ran out to treat him.
Temba Bavuma could not walk properly as he seemed to be in immense pain. She walked out of the field and had a grim expression on her face. Here is the video of how she gets injured and leaves the field:
– Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (@Hanji_CricDekho) December 26, 2023
This could be a big blow for South Africa as they will not only lose a proper batsman but also the captain. The severity of his injury is not yet known, but he didn’t look very good. The way he left doesn’t seem like he’s going to return to the field anytime soon.
In his place, Dean Elagar, playing his final Test series, has taken over the captaincy. The left-hander would hope to take Temba Bavuma’s place and be a good team captain. All eyes would be on him as to how he would rotate his pitchers and put pressure on hitters.
IND vs SA: Temba Bavuma puts India into bat first in Centurion
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and put India in to bat first. The players made sure the captain’s decision looked great as they bowled some impeccable lines and lengths. On the surface, which has suited the bowlers, the hosts have greatly worried the Indian batsmen.
Kagiso Rabada drew first blood for his team by removing captain Rohit Sharma (5) early with a short ball. After that, debutant Nandre Burger was on top of the Indian batsmen as he helped pick youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal (17) and Shubman Gill (2).
India were left reeling at 24/3 and that was when Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer came together and got the team out of trouble. The duo has played superbly well and has added more than 60 runs for the partnership. They negotiated the difficult phase well and also made sure to score runs.
The team management would expect both of them to stay there for a long time and lead the team to a respectable first innings total.
