'Temba Bavuma took a lot of pressure off of me by scoring so freely' - Ryan Rickelton reflects after maiden ton in Tests

On Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka, Ryan Rickelton notched up his maiden Test century. The 28-year-old faced 250 balls and scored 101 runs. Rickelton said that his resilient innings in the face of top order collapse stemmed from Temba Bavuma’s assistance. The duo stitched a 133-run stand for the fourth wicket as South Africa managed to score 269/7 at the end of Day 1. 

Speaking of Bavuma, he is looking in solid touch after his comeback from elbow injury. The South Africa captain scored 78 off 109 with the help of eight boundaries and one maximum before Asitha Fernando sent him back. Rickelton added that he could forge a century only because Bavuma took pressure off him by scoring runs from the other end.

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“I think [the loss of the wickets] made me tighten up my plan a lot more. Being 44/3 we were in a bit of trouble, so I knew I had to tighten up more. Cricket is funny. The better things are, the looser an individual tends to get and I am one of those guys. Luckily for me, Temba was seeing it really well and playing well, so he took a lot of pressure off of me by scoring so freely on what was a tough morning,” said Rickelton as quoted by Times Live.

Our first prize tomorrow would be to get closer to 300: Rickelton

Though South Africa have lost seven wickets on Day 1, they are close to reaching the 300-run mark. Speaking on the desired target, Rickelton said the team will aim to get to 300 and once achieved, 350 will be a defendable total in the first innings.

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“Generally in Gqeberha, if you are hovering around 350, it is a really good score. Our first prize tomorrow [Friday] would be to get closer to 300 — and if we get there, one partnership of 50-odd would take us beyond that 350 mark,” Rickelton concluded.