I back my defence, that's my game: Bavuma

Kolkata, Nov 16 (PTI) South African captain Temba Bavuma on Sunday said his game is built around an unshakeable defence, which stood him in good stead on a disintegrating Eden Gardens track, where 38 wickets fell inside eight sessions.

On his comeback from a five-month calf injury, the South African skipper's composure stood out as he led his side to a remarkable 30-run win over India in the opening Test. This was South Africa's 10th win in 11 Tests under his leadership.

"Look, I'm a guy who always backs my defence. I think my game is that simple. I try to play around my defence," said Bavuma who made a second innings 55 not out.

His 44-run eighth wicket partnership with Corbin Bosch became match defining as it extended their overall lead past 100 and set India a 124-run target on a deteriorating pitch.

"This morning, like I said, I thought it was a better wicket this morning. It would have been nice on our side if we had wickets. I think we would have been able to get more than just the 125-run lead." While the match ended in under three days, Bavuma said the conditions were not unfamiliar to anyone touring India.

He pointed out that unpredictable bounce -- rather than any vicious turn -- made strokeplay risky.

"Maybe from a spin point of view, you'd expect the way the wicket played, more from day three, day four onwards. But that being said, that's what you can expect when you come to India," he said.

"I don't think I've ever played on a day five in India. Nor have I played day four. Unless they've scored 600. Nothing new from my previous experience," he quipped.

He added that the challenge lay in trusting the bounce, which varied sharply across spells.

"There weren't demons...nothing that you wouldn't expect. From a spin point of view, I felt that it was tricky. I find it a bit tricky to trust the bounce. Some balls were bouncing nicely. Others were squatting which made the cross-batted shots a bit harder." Responding to the narrative that South Africa had beaten India at their own game, Bavuma said the win reflected preparation and maturity.

"Yeah, it's probably true. I think the wicket that was prepared is what I understand was asked on their side. We've come here knowing that the wickets are going to be spinner-friendly," he said.

"It didn't come as a surprise...for a lot of our younger guys, it's an experience. As much as we've run, there are areas we can improve within our batting and a little bit within our seam bowling." Strike rotation, he felt, was crucial on such a pitch where boundaries were rare commodities.

"You've got to try and keep the scoreboard ticking. They had spread the field so there were singles on offer. I was able to capitalise on that." Bavuma also acknowledged that the sweep shot, which he used frequently, was a calculated option in these conditions rather than an instinctive response.

"The sweep for me is pretty much premeditated." He said the dressing room believed even 125 could be defended, taking confidence from their first-innings work with the ball.

"We had the belief, disillusioned. It's not every day you go and score 125 and you feel that's a winning score. But we had to believe," he said.

When Axar Patel briefly counterattacked with two sixes as India slumped to 77/7, Bavuma said they still knew their left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj was the biggest threat.

"Keshav was the attacking option there, with the right-hander, Kesh comes into the game but when the two lefties were batting, we tried to go with Aiden and Simon Harmer." He hailed Player of the Match Harmer's eight-wicket haul, calling his return a significant addition to South Africa's spin armoury.

"The ball obviously comes at a higher trajectory. He has good control in terms of his pace. He's able to put revs on it." "You'll see in terms of the seam -- he's quite smart. Him coming back into the team has made our bowling attack even more formidable." "From a spin point of view, we relied heavily on Keshav. But Simon, as we saw today, he's really upped our bowling resources," he signed off. PTI TAP TAP AH AH