Would rather face him in A game than in Kolkata: SA skipper Bavuma outlines Kuldeep threat

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 13 (ANI): South Africa captain Temba Bavuma underscored the threat that India's premier left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav is capable of posing, irrespective of whether the surface offers turn to him or not, ahead of the two-match series opener on Friday.

Bavuma recently engaged in a mouth-watering battle against Kuldeep for the first time during the second unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A earlier this month. During South Africa A's second innings at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence, Kuldeep rolled his arm and tested the South African captain with his vast array of skills.

The 35-year-old tried to counter Kuldeep by sweeping the ball in the air and almost ended up holing out to the fielder. After making a narrow escape, Bavuma pulled out grounded reverse sweep and traditional sweep shots to drill the ball straight to the boundary rope.

After having the first taste of an enthralling encounter with Kuldeep, Bavuma jokingly admitted that he would rather face the 30-year-old in an A game rather than in the first Test at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. While negating Kuldeep's variation, Bavuma revealed that he understood why the Indian management rates the left-armer highly.

"Yeah, so I think for myself, it was the first time actually facing him. So that was quite nice. I'd rather face him in an A game than here in Kolkata. That's if he plays. I think, yeah, it takes a little bit of time to get used to him. Not a massive turn on the ball, but he can obviously deceive you off the wicket with the ball turning in and turning away," Bavuma told reporters on the eve of the series opener of the two-match series, scheduled to commence on Friday.

"Yeah, I think it's just really giving yourself that extra bit of time to understand the little nuances that he has. But I mean, in my little bit that I got to face him last week, you can see why India have a lot of faith in him. Definitely the guy who's a wicket-taker, so we'll obviously have to keep our wits about him. But I think like all their bowlers, they all have the ability to take wickets. We'll have to take care of them and give them the respect that they deserve," Bavuma added.

The five days of the first Test are expected to be played in front of a jam-packed crowd, unlike the low turnout during the home red-ball fixtures against the West Indies last month. Bavuma feels people filling up the stadium for the promising fixture is an ominous sign for Test cricket, a format that is trying to rediscover its lost glory, due to the growing prominence of T20 cricket.

"I think historically as well, it's always nice to be a part of those types of moments. So we'd like to make it a positive one in terms of the results. But, yeah, I think it will be, again, I think it will be a good effort for Test cricket," Bavuma said.

"You know, around the world, we've been complaining about stadiums not being filled up. We've got a little bit of a similar issue back home. So I think this, again, will show that test cricket is alive and kicking. And I think, again, it just speaks to the fact that we have an exciting series lined up for us," Bavuma added.

While addressing the press, the 35-year-old evoked laughter while narrating a tale of a conversation he had with New Zealand's talismanic batter, Kane Williamson. Bavuma met Kane during an event in Mumbai earlier this year and tried to gather some pointers from the former Blackcaps skipper. The only thing that Williamson could advise him was not to lose the toss.

"I met up with Kane at an awards evening here in India a couple of months ago. I tried to ask him for some pointers. He wasn't too open about it all. But he did say that, make sure that you win the toss. So I'll be practising my coin-tossing skills. But, yeah, I think you've just got to play good cricket," Bavuma said with a smile on his face.

"You know, I mean, it's as easy and as hard as when you come to India. You know the type of questions that they are going to ask from a bowling point of view, from a batting point of view. I believe our preparation is as good as it could have been," Bavuma concluded. (ANI)

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