Prior to the first Test of the two-match series starting on Tuesday, December 26, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma shared his thoughts on India bowling assault.
Four players who might be in India’s top six have red-ball averages above 40: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer. The fact that none of the South African hitters in the team now have averages this high suggests that India appears to have an advantage when it comes to batting. It is nonetheless noteworthy that Rohit only averages 15.37 in South Africa, while only Kohli has remarkable numbers there with an average of 51.35.
“You would think that since we are more familiar with the conditions, we might adjust to them better, but they have quite good bowling. We have an edge, but their bowling attack has allowed them to achieve such success that it almost cancels it out. ESPNcricinfo cited Bavuma as stating, “It’s more between the batters and how the batters take that challenge.”
Temba Bavuma underlined the significance of maintaining South Africa’s perfect home record against India while underscoring the unique pressure of playing the Rohit Sharma-led squad. The 33-year-old accepted that playing against India is subject to criticism. He also mentioned that India, with their veteran Test players who have experience playing in a variety of circumstances, bring a significant talent aspect to the field.
The fact that we, as a South African squad, have managed to maintain that record fills us with great pride; as players, we share that feeling. However, we are aware that playing India has certain difficulties, and it is these difficulties that we would like to concentrate on. When we play India, there are a lot more people watching and scrutinizing everything we do. Thus, it acknowledges that.
“The other, more apparent one is the player’s talent level on the field. As a batter, I can assure you that the bowlers will exert pressure on you, and their batting lineup includes well-known Test players who have proven themselves in all circumstances. We’ll definitely need to be at our best because they’re a motivated squad as well, wanting to be able to claim they’ve won a Test series here in South Africa,” the Proteas skipper continued.
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