‘Good to be back’ - Temba Bavuma reflects on South Africa’s second Test win against Sri Lanka

South Africa clinched their two-game Test series against Sri Lanka with another comfortable win in the second Test. Both sides locked horns in the second Test at St George's Park, Gqeberha, and after a well-fought battle between both teams, it was the Proteas who emerged victorious.

After posting a total of 358 runs in the first innings, South Africa limited Sri Lanka to a score of 328 runs. Furthermore, the Proteas followed it up by posting a total of 317 runs in the second innings, giving the visitors a target of 348 runs. Furthermore, Sri Lanka only managed to score 238 runs as the Proteas won the game by 109 runs.

Throughout the game, the performance of Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma stood out. The star batter scored 78 runs in the first innings and followed it up by posting 66 runs in the second innings. After the win, Bavuma also reflected on his comeback and the side’s performance in the clash.

"Good to be back, firstly. Enjoying the opportunity to be out with them. Lot of hunger and desire from my side, when the opportunities come and body allows, to put in performances for the team. Hopefully I was able to grab them. Durban was tricky, first day conditions overhead. From my side, I wanted to keep the intent of looking to score, not worry too much about technique and how it looks, also encourage the other players to do so,” Bavuma was quoted as saying as ESPNcricinfo.

“Felt fresh mentally and physically, was able to contribute. This Test for a lot of the guys was a proper Test. Rare that you get to play all five days, rare the game swings both sides, credit to Sri Lanka for the way they went about their business, asked the right questions, they made us work hard for the win,” Bavuma added.

Also Read: WTC 2023-25 Points Table: Here's a look at latest standings after South Africa's win against Sri Lanka

This game was tighter than the last one: Dhananjaya de Silva

Furthermore, Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya de Silva took centre stage and reflected on the second Test. He opined that the second clash was tighter than the first one and admitted that they were not good enough.

“This game was tighter than the last one; the boys fought hard, but we weren't good enough. The conditions are obviously different to Sri Lanka; the bowling attack they had, they kept asking questions, even the spinners. I think they played better than us. We're getting better [playing in SENA countries], but need to get better in every department. We don't have plans yet [for the home Tests v Australia] but it'll spin [in Galle],” Silva said.