‘The championship table looks good’ – Temba Bavuma expresses happiness as South Africa climbs to top of WTC standings (Photo Source: Twitter)
Hosts South Africa inflicted a 2-0 series whitewash on Sri Lanka after beating the Dhananjaya de Silva-led side by 109 runs in Gqeberha, in the second Test on Monday, December 9. With this emphatic result, the Proteas displaced Australia at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, who finished as the highest run-getter in the Test series, expressed his happiness after guiding his team to the top of the WTC points table. Instead of being concerned about the mathematics involved, the diminutive batter wanted his team to continue the good cricket that they have been playing in the 2023-2025 WTC cycle.
Notably, the second Test was decided on the final day of the Test match, a rare occurence in modern-day cricket. Bavuma said that a lot of the players got a taste of what the longest format is about as the two teams battled hard to wrestle the momentum in their favour.
“The championship table looks good. We see ourselves at number one with two games to go. I don’t know what the maths looks like but we’re playing good cricket and we want it to continue,” ICC quoted Bavuma as saying.
“For a lot of the guys it was a proper taste of what Test cricket is about. It’s rare when you get to play for five days and it’s also rare when the game is always in the balance. There were times when we were on top and times when Sri Lanka were getting the momentum on their side,” he added.
South Africa to host Pakistan in limited overs and Test series
Meanwhile, South Africa do not have much time to celebrate their success against the Lankan Lions as they have an important two-match Test series against Pakistan lined up. The first Test will begin on December 26 aka on Boxing Day at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Meanwhile, the second Test will be played at Newlands, in Cape Town.
However, before the Test series, they will play limited-overs cricket with the T20I series starting on December 10, while the ODI series will commence on December 17, respectively.