A nation exploded as the clock struck 12:45 p.m. British Summer Time and Kyle Verreynne hammered a full toss from Mitchell Starc for a pitiful single. After 27 years, South Africa finally experienced their moment in the sun with a magnificent five-wicket victory over Australia in the World Test Championship final, which erased the painful recollections of past blunders, many of which were self-inflicted, and of failed campaigns. Long years of disappointment and sorrow had finally come to an end.

South Africa's qualification for the WTC final was met with scornful dismissal; during the two-year cycle, they did not compete against England or Australia and could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against India, who had beaten them in two days on a dreadful Newlands surface in Cape Town. They seemed to have "played" the system by relying on a string of two-Test series to get them into the championship match.

It didn't seem to make a difference that they had won seven Tests in a row before the final or that they had a great all-round team led by the exceptional mind-over-matter leader. Temba Bavuma frequently goes unnoticed, maybe because he is misunderstood, but this has barely affected the 35-year-old, who orchestrated a remarkable campaign by presenting himself as the ideal model of front-line leadership.

South Africa's commendable captain scored 711 runs in eight games during the third cycle of the WTC, with an average of 53.13 and two hundreds. In the Lord's last match, he followed up a two-and-a-half-hour 36 in the first innings with what was probably his most significant and gratifying innings: 66 in three and a quarter hours on one leg, having suffered a hamstring injury very early on.

When the mind prevailed over the body

Considering how badly he was hindered by the injury at just six, no one would have blamed Bavuma for retiring hurt. Each subsequent run was a challenge, a burden, a setback; every second spent in the center was unimaginably painful, yet he revealed little except for the odd unintentional grimace. Bavuma fought through the pain barrier to join the outstanding Aiden Markram in a 147-run partnership for the third wicket, which helped the Proteas launch the joint second-highest successful run chase in Lord's history.

Initially, Bavuma was seen as a recipient of the affirmative action policy aimed at correcting past injustices. However, nowadays, the cricketing community is at a loss for words when it comes to praising the South African skipper. With his remarkable fourth-innings 136, Markram was understandably the center of attention, and Kagiso Rabada, who was coming off a cocaine-induced ban, was the bowling hero with match figures of nine for 110. However, Bavuma's exceptional 66 was far from insignificant; he displayed spunk, spirit, hunger, ambition, and desperation while batting on one leg and limping between the wickets for all but a quarter of an hour of his time at the crease, making light of physical agony to orchestrate undeniably the greatest moment in South African cricketing history.

Almost everyone has forgotten that the Proteas, led by Hansie Cronje, won the first Champions Trophy (then known as the ICC KnockOut Trophy) in Bangladesh in 1998. Until Saturday afternoon, the string of departures during the knockout rounds of ICC events across formats was remembered. This included two defeats in the quarterfinals, a staggering twelve defeats in the semifinals, and one loss in the final of the T20 World Cup against India in Bridgetown, which took place just under a year ago, when 30 off 30 with six wickets remaining was far too far for many.

Despite cricket not being the most popular sport in the country, South Africa's faith and depth of talent are evident in their ability to recover from that devastating low of less than 12 months ago and stand atop the Test firmament. It will be just and not far-fetched to keep Bavuma at the vanguard of this revolution. The little guy is soft-spoken and likes to remain anonymous. He has molded his crew into a battle-ready unit that is unaware of what it means to take a step back. Despite having just a humble average of 38.22 from 64 Test matches, Bavuma went above and beyond the call of duty by leading the way amid tremendous strain and extreme physical pain, cementing his place as one of the legends of the sport in his native land.

Bavuma's identity is no longer centered on the fact that he was the first black African player chosen for South Africa's Test team. He has led his squad to accomplishments that many of his famous predecessors were unable to achieve. The emotions of AB de Villiers, Graeme Smith, and Shaun Pollock, who were all at Lord's in different roles, made it clear how significant Saturday's win was for them and, consequently, for their nation. The fact that Bavuma was the mastermind behind this historic victory gave it an extra, exceptional glow.

Read Also: Temba Bavuma’s Adorable Gesture: WTC Mace Passed to 1-Year-Old Son Wins Hearts

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