Temba Bavuma's ends 7-year wait for Test hundred, avoids unwanted record

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South Africa captain Temba Bavuma ended his seven year wait for a Test hundred on Day 3 of the second Test against West Indies at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday.

Bavuma's second Test hundred also made sure that he avoided an unwanted record for most innings between two hundreds in men's Test cricket history.

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Adam Parore took 92 innings between two hundreds. Bavuma took 88 innings between his two Test centuries. His last hundred came against England in Cape Town in 2016. The ton against West Indies is 32-year-old's second overall in Test cricket.

Former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher took 73 innings between his fourth and fifth Test hundred. Ex-Pakistan player Moin Khan took 69 innings between his third and fourth hundred. While Bangladesh's Mahmudullah played 68 innings between his first and second Test hundred.

In the first Test of the ongoing 2-match series, the diminutive cricketer became only the fourth player in the history of Test cricket to register ducks in both the innings of his debut Test innings as captain. He joined Mark Taylor, Rashid Latif and Habibul Bashar in the unwanted list. Bavuma took over as South Africa Test captain after the sacking of Dean Elgar ahead of the West Indies series.

Temba Bavuma fires in crunch situation

South Africa won the first Test by 87 runs. They have also put themselves in a solid position in the second match. At the end of Day 3, they were leading by 356 runs in the second innings. After scoring 320 in the first innings and then bundling the West Indies for 251, the Proteas have piled up 287 runs for the loss of seven wickets in second innings.

Aiden Markaram, who hit a hundred in the first Test, scored 96 runs in the first innings. Bavuma went back to the pavilion unbeaten on 171 on Day 3. The Hundred from the right-hander is a crucial one as it came at a time when the hosts were reeling at 69 for 4. They were later reduced to 103/5 but Bavuma led from the front played an exceptional innings under pressure to put his team on top again.