KOLKATA: Just after the first hour on Day One, there was an incident involving Jasprit Bumrah and Temba Bavuma. After an appeal for leg-before was not upheld, the pacer was discussing whether to take DRS. During that discussion, Bumrah, in passing, used the word 'bauna'. Dwarf.
Bavuma's frame may be small but he has the hallmarks of a champion. Across three sessions on Saturday and Sunday, sandwiched by stumps, the man from Langa rose to the occasion. Again. Even as his colleagues came and went, he stuck to his principles, tried to keep the scoreboard moving, trusted his partners when rotating strike and showed exemplary technique on how to bat — survive, really — on a pitch which should make it to the next edition of minesweeper. Survival wasn't a matter of if but when and some of the batters wanted to get ahead of the eight ball before a ball with their name on it came along.
But Bavuma found a method. He would either go forward or right back as much as possible. He tried to avoid intersecting deliveries in no man's land. He didn't come in with any preconceived ideas but 'just play what's in front'. This morning, I think my message to the guys 'was always to just try and play what's in front of you. Try not to have too many preconceived ideas'. (And) it (the pitch) did kind of calm down a bit. Obviously, there was still a bit of turn. But Corbin (Bosch) and I could build a partnership. It would have been nice if Marco was still there this morning. "But I think it was more a case of just play what's in front of you, keep your nerve."
That partnership he strung with Bosch — 44 for the seventh wicket — caused some damage, damage that may have been avoided as Rishabh Pant, the stand-in captain, gave away a touch too many singles. The pair ran 10 singles in the first six overs apart from a four and double so the scoreboard kept moving.
One method Bavuma employed to score was the sweep. It's no secret that they have found a lot of success with this particular shot in recent times. "Sometimes, it's not necessarily to get a boundary," Bavuma said in the post-match press conference. "It's just a way of going off strike. It's a bit on the high risk end because their bowlers are generally wicket to wicket. But as you can see, you can't kind of just sit and block and block. Fortunately, they had spread the field so there were singles on offer. "Yeah, the sweep, for me, is pre-meditated. It's just more a case of, is it a power sweep or is it more of a control one?"
Inch by inch, he made progress. A nudge to the off-side, a clip to the leg-side, a drive down the ground... It didn't matter that he hit only a boundary off a spinner in this innings because he was getting runs through other avenues. He may have made only 55 across three hours — but within the context of the game, it was the only stock to invest in.
There was a time when the South African skipper faced some criticism with respect to his place in the side. Now? He can lay claim to be one of the best going around. His life-time average is 38.42 but he averages a shade over 59 since the beginning of 2024. The talent was always there but it's also a mental thing. He now knows he belongs and that this is his level. As skipper, he has also created a happy environment for himself and others and it has clearly fed into his batting. "He's been one of the best players in the last 24 months," their coach Shukri Conrad said. "He showed that again this morning (Sunday) and yesterday afternoon (Saturday)."
When asked to reveal their secret sauce as a pair — nobody has achieved 10 Test wins as captain quicker than Bavuma in the near 150-year history of the game — Conrad dived into his book of cliches. "I don't think it's a recipe really or a magic wand," he said. it's really just allowing things to unfold organically and really showing faith in them." He showed faith in them, something the players reciprocated. Just before the press conference wound down, when Conrad was asked about the incident between Bumrah and his captain, the coach smiled. "Thankfully," he gushed, "he's got the heart of a giant."