Cricket
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Speaking
on
ICC
Digital
Daily,
former
South
African
skipper
and
batting
legend
Graeme
Smith
lauded
the
South
African
cricket
team’s
resilience
and
determination.
He
particularly
praised
captain
Temba
Bavuma
and
Aiden
Markram
for
their
unbeaten
143-run
partnership,
which
brought
the
team
close
to
a
Test
victory.
“Temba
holding
the
mace
and
what
that
will
mean
for
the
people
back
home
–
I
think
this
will
lift
the
game
again
in
South
Africa,” Smith
noted,
highlighting
the
emotional
significance
of
their
achievement.
At
the
end
of
Day
3,
South
Africa
was
at
213/2,
needing
just
69
more
runs
to
win.
Markram
remained
not
out
on
102,
while
Bavuma,
despite
a
hamstring
injury,
reached
65
not
out.
This
partnership
is
poised
to
become
one
of
South
Africa’s
most
iconic
in
cricket
history.
Smith
commended
their
comeback
from
a
first-innings
deficit
of
75
runs,
attributing
it
to
their
mental
fortitude
and
belief.

Bavuma
and
Aiden
Markram
South
Africa’s
Grit
and
Determination
“We’ve
seen
such
ups
and
downs
in
this
Test
match.
South
Africa
fought
back
hard,
bowled
superbly,
and
then
built
a
match-winning
partnership.
Aiden’s
century
was
sublime,
and
the
stand
with
Temba
was
match-defining,” Smith
remarked.
He
emphasized
Bavuma’s
leadership
qualities:
“We
mustn’t
overlook
what
Temba
has
done.
Battling
through
a
sore
hamstring,
putting
the
team
first,
that
shows
real
leadership.”
Smith
also
praised
Markram
for
his
performance
after
scoring
a
duck
in
the
first
innings.
“I
actually
picked
him
at
the
start
of
this
innings.
If
South
Africa
were
going
to
chase
this
down,
he
was
the
man.
The
way
he
played
that
early
back-foot
punch,
you
just
knew
he
meant
business
today,”
Smith
commented.
Australian
Tactics
Under
Scrutiny
Smith
critiqued
Australia’s
tactics
during
the
match,
suggesting
they
might
have
been
too
passive.
“The
bowling
attack
tried
hard,
but
maybe
Nathan
Lyon
could
have
bowled
into
the
rough
a
bit
more.
With
Bavuma
injured,
I
thought
Cummins
was
a
bit
defensive.
They
could’ve
applied
more
pressure
when
150
were
still
needed,” he
observed.
Despite
this
critique,
Smith
was
full
of
admiration
for
the
South
African
batters’
performance:
“You’ve
got
to
credit
the
Proteas.
Today
was
about
fight
and
class,
and
Aiden
and
Temba
embodied
both.
Their
partnership
was
simply
outstanding.”
Reflections
on
Progress
Reflecting
on
his
tenure
as
captain
during
a
transitional
period
for
South
African
cricket,
Smith
acknowledged
their
progress:
“Over
the
last
two
to
three
years,
we’ve
worked
hard
to
rebuild
South
African
cricket.
Most
people
wrote
us
off
before
this
game.
And
now,
here
we
are,
69
runs
away
from
beating
one
of
the
greatest
Australian
sides
in
a
final.”