Temba Bavuma was unlucky to be run out in the most unfortunate circumstances by Quinton de Kock at Kingsmead in Wednesday’s Play of the Day, writes ANITHA MADIKIZELA.
Bavuma and De Kock could only manage 21 runs together for the fifth wicket before Bavuma had to depart, following a freak run-out incident that saw South Africa reduced to 110-5 on a difficult day one for the Proteas.
READ MORE: Shame, I didn’t mean to do that – de Kock
De Kock’s intention was to drive a full delivery from Vishwa Fernando (4-62 in 17 overs) straight past the bowler and into the ropes to register a boundary early in his innings, but the outcome was certainly not what the wicketkeeper-batsman had in mind.
He hit the ball straight on to the bowler’s foot, instead, and the ricochet sent the cherry flying directly to Bavuma’s stumps at the non-striker’s end. Bavuma dived back into his crease, but the Proteas No 4 was caught just short of the mark and ultimately given his marching orders by the third umpire.
WICKET! @tbavuma10 loses his wicket in the most unfortunate way. De Kock smashes the ball into Fernando's foot, the ball goes on to hit the stumps and Bavuma is run out for 47. The #Proteas are 110-5.#SAvSL pic.twitter.com/h1nOCjIBHI
— SA Cricket magazine (@SACricketmag) February 13, 2019
Having been promoted up the order following the omission of Theunis de Bruyn, Bavuma was looking good against the Sri Lankans as he helped consolidate a rocky start to the home team’s innings. He was unlucky to suffer the unfortunate incident just three runs short of his half-century – finishing as South Africa’s second-highest run-scorer with 47 off 66 balls that included seven fours.
READ MORE: De Bruyn absence a misjudgment
Luckily De Kock put the incident behind him and continued batting alongside the lower order, putting together several double-digit partnerships with the tailenders, including a 47-run partnership with Keshav Maharaj (26 off 35 balls, 4×4).
De Kock went on to top-score for the Proteas with a resilient 80 off 174 balls that was littered with eight fours and one towering six. He was unlucky to be the last wicket to fall in the innings, after being adjudged to have edged a Kasun Rajitha (3-68 in 14.4 overs) to Fernando at fine leg, ending the innings on 235 all out.
READ ALSO: De Kock numbs SA’s batting woes
Sri Lanka will resume Thursday on 49-1 with Dimuth Karunaratne (28) and Oshada Fernando (17) at the crease, looking to chip away at South Africa’s 186-run lead at Kingsmead.
Photo: Steve Haag/Getty Images
