Temba Bavuma played a historic innings against Australia, inspired by Sachin Tendulkar's technique

The South African off-spinner, Simon Harmer, achieved a remarkable feat in the second match of the series against Australia, entering history books. Harmer scored an impressive 82 runs, thereby breaking Dale Steyn's 18-year record.

He reached this result at a time when the South African team was in a difficult situation and desperately needed a big partnership. On Tuesday, the third day of the match played at Centurion Park in Gqeberha, Harmer faced 91 deliveries, scoring 10 fours and one six.

This figure is the highest for a South African batsman batting at number 9 or lower against Australia in Test matches. The previous record was 76 runs, set by Dale Steyn during a match in Melbourne in 2008.

In the first innings, South Africa lost six wickets for 110 runs. Following this, captain Temba Bavuma and Marco Jansen stabilized the game, adding 132 runs for the seventh wicket. Jansen departed after scoring 85 runs, after which Harmer supported Bavuma. Both players formed a crucial partnership on the eighth wicket, accumulating 183 runs.

This is the second-largest partnership on the eighth wicket or lower in South African history. The record is currently held by Marco Boucher and Pete Symcox, who scored 195 runs against Pakistan in 1998.

For his part, captain Temba Bavuma demonstrated exceptional patience and technique under pressure, scoring 179 runs off 334 balls, including 18 fours and one six. When the team score was only 12 runs with two wickets down on the first day, Bavuma took responsibility and prevented the innings from collapsing.

Simon Harmer had the opportunity to earn his first hundred in Test matches, but Marnus Labuschagne dismissed him. After South Africa fell victim to Mitchell Starc, they declared the innings closed at 425/9. By the end of the third day, Australia had scored three runs for the loss of one wicket. Kagiso Rabada dismissed Nick Maddinson, preventing him from scoring any runs.

The three-match test series between South Africa and Australia starts on October 9th in Durban at the Kingsmead ground. Fan interest is high because the Australian team will play in test matches in South Africa for the first time since 2018. The previous series between these two teams caused much discussion due to the ball-tampering controversy known as 'Sandpapergate.'

South Africa's captain, Temba Bavuma, expresses enthusiasm for this series. His team is preparing to play test matches on its home ground for the first time since winning the World Test Championship (WTC) title last year. Bavuma hopes that spectators in Durban will come in large numbers to celebrate the team's historic victory.

Before the match, Bavuma stated that playing in the test format in front of a home audience after becoming WTC champions is a special opportunity for the team. He expressed hope that the fans in Durban would support the team by attending the stadium.

Bavuma clearly indicated that the entire team is focused on winning the first test match. South Africa has announced its squad for this game. Fast bowler Enric Nortje has returned to the team, and he will play his first test match since 2023.

Unfortunately, Kagiso Rabada, who is injured, could not participate in the first test match. In Rabada's absence, the responsibility for fast bowling will fall to Nortje. Bavuma highly praised Nortje, noting that it is difficult to ignore a bowler who bowls over 150 km/h. He also mentioned Nortje's excellent performance in training sessions.

High hopes are also placed on all-rounder Wayne Mulder. According to Bavuma, Mulder can make an important contribution in the middle order. He can be useful to the team not only as a batter but also in bowling and fielding.

The South African team aims to take advantage of home conditions to achieve victory. On the other hand, the Australian team, led by Pat Cummins, also intends to start the series with a win. The tension in this series has been heightened by old memories of the 'Sandpapergate' controversy.

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Mulder, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, and Enric Nortje.