Image Credit- AFP
Temba Bavuma is optimistic that he will find the form
that propelled him to the top of South Africa’s ODI cricket run-scoring
leaderboard going into the World Cup, as his country approaches a pivotal phase
of its campaign.
With 111 runs from five matches, Bavuma is the least
profitable of South Africa’s top six at the World Cup at the moment, and has
also scored fewer runs than their No. 7, Marco Jansen, but the form of his
team-mates means he does not have to feel the pressure yet. “You always
want to be making contributions,” he said in Kolkata ahead of South
Africa’s meeting with India. “The other batters are smashing it at the
moment, and I take comfort in the fact that I’ve been involved in some partnerships
with Quinton [de Kock] up front.”
Bavuma made 35 runs in a 108-run partnership with de
Kock against Australia in Lucknow, but none of their previous partnerships had
scored more than 38. Bavuma has a maximum score of 35. Although left-arm
seamers have dismissed him twice, he has been finding fielders, so there isn’t
much more to his (mis)fortunes than that. Therefore, even though the statistics
indicate that Bavuma is having difficulty, some of his shots—such as the two
cover drives he made against New Zealand right before he gave way to Trent
Boult—as well as the manner in which he has exited the pitch imply that the
situation may not be as dire as it first appears, and de Kock concurs.
“Temba has been batting really well,” de
Kock told the media on Friday. “He has looked very solid up front. He has
somehow found a way to keep getting out. He is still feeling good about his own
game and is very confident. Temba always backs himself, which is a good thing
and a good trait to have. He is not fazed. At least I hope he is not – it
doesn’t look like he is.”
And 24 hours later, Bavuma confirmed that he is,
indeed, unfazed. “From my side, maybe it’s just one of those patches again
where I am kind of scratching, but I think I’ve got to keep that belief that
the opportunity will be there for me to make a big play within the team. That’s
where my head is,” he said. “I take a lot of comfort in the fact that
we’ve been getting starts in that first ten overs and obviously with the guys
being in form, they’ve been able to exploit that and play the way that they’ve
played.”