Bavuma's career-best knock sparks Proteas comeback
The South Africa skipper produced his career-best Test score as the hosts mounted a strong first-innings lead.
Reeling at 97/5, South Africa put themselves in a commanding position on Day 3 of their second ICC World Test Championship match against Australia in Gqeberha.
Skipper Temba Bavuma was central to their fightback, stitching together 179 runs off 334 deliveries, an innings laced with 18 fours and a maximum.
It was the highest score for Bavuma in the longest format of the game, surpassing his previous best of 172 against the West Indies in 2023.
"Yeah, definitely one of my better ones," Bavuma said afterwards about his knock.
"I think looking at the situation of the game, and I think personally as well, I found myself a lot in those types of situations, coming in early, trying to manage myself to kind of scramble through to a 50 or 60.
"But I think what was nice was my ability to take it even further and make it count."
The 36-year-old also credited his childhood hero, Sachin Tendulkar, conceding that he takes cues from his batting technique.
"I try to emulate my technique to his," Bavuma said.
"I'm obviously not a big guy. I'm not really going to get any big strides in. I try to be efficient in terms of my movement.
"Sometimes it gets me into trouble. But I think for me, that's generally what works. I try to play the ball as close to my body as possible."
Accompanying the South Africa captain were Marco Jansen (85) and Simon Harmer (82), who stitched together crucial partnerships as the hosts declared their first innings at 425/9.
While Jansen got to his fifth half-century in the longest format of the game, it was a maiden fifty-plus score for Harmer.
For Australia, Scott Boland was the pick of the bowlers as he registered a five-wicket haul.
South Africa added to their highlights from the day with Kagiso Rabada opening their account with the ball.
The right-arm quick, who missed out on the series opener, took little time to make his mark, snapping Nic Maddinson in his first over.
Australia ended the day with three runs on the board for the loss of a wicket.
Series schedule
First Test: 9-13 October, Durban (Australia won by 214 runs)
Second Test: 18-22 October, Gqeberha
Third Test: 27-31 October, Cape Town