Temba Bavuma ‘locked in’ as he aims to lead Proteas from the front again

After leading his team to a comeback victory in the second match, captain Temba Bavuma says he and his Proteas side will need to reset and ensure they are focused in an attempt to secure a series victory over Australia in the third and final Test which gets underway at Newlands on Tuesday (10.30am start).

After losing the series opener in Durban by 214 runs, the SA team hit back to win the second fixture in Gqeberha last week by an innings and 31 runs, with Bavuma leading from the front with a career-best knock of 179 runs to earn the Player of the Match award.

They now needed to ensure they were grounded and ready for battle once more against the Baggy Greens, and the Proteas skipper was hoping to play a key role again.

“It’s always a tough one. I think for me, you come off such a high like that, and I guess the challenge is to find a way to get yourself into the right mental space, a space where you are still hungry and desire making another big play for the team,” Bavuma said on Monday.

“A lot of that work is mental, I guess, and then from a physical point of view I’ve been recovering as best I can, so I’ll take the positive things and the learnings from that innings at St George’s, see what it is I can take from there coming here to Newlands, and then also make sure I’m still able to play what is in front of me.

“I think Newlands might present a slightly different challenge, so I’ll make sure I’m aware and present for that, take whatever confidence I get from St George’s but be here and be locked in for the next five days.”

A fine line between winning and losing

While the first game was affected by bad light and the second match was delayed by rain, both games produced exciting battles.

Heading into the deciding clash, Bavuma expected another thrilling contest between the world’s top two ranked sides, with the sort of ebbs and flows that are typical in the five-day format.

“I think from a batting point of view you know your work is going to be cut out and you have to be on the mark and you have to be sharp,” the skipper said.

“I think the bowlers have seen as well that you can’t have any soft periods within the game. The guys are always looking for opportunities to apply pressure on you.

“If you look at the first Test, on day one we were on top of the game and they came back into the game and they ended up winning. And the second game was similar because they were on top for the first couple of days and then we came back.

“So I think it really has been exciting and it shows there’s a fine line between winning and losing when two top teams come together.”