Historic India series win puts Temba Bavuma's Proteas side among SA's great Test teams

When Temba Bavuma led the Proteas to glory at Lord’s this past winter, securing the country’s first ICC trophy in the 21st century, it would have crossed many people’s minds that the diminutive batter is leading a team that could potentially be the best Test team South Africa has ever produced.

However, it was clear that the 35-year-old would need to bring down a few giants for him and his team to be mentioned in the same sentence as some of the teams of the past, despite having won the World Test Championship.

The first task was Pakistan, where Aiden Markram stepped in for the injured Bavuma and achieved a tied series that ended 1-1. Despite that being a great result for any team touring the subcontinent, many would have overlooked the achievement. The real challenge was going to India and getting a result there.

After all, many greats of South African cricket have toured India in the past and returned home with their tails tucked between their legs, quite literally. The Proteas had not won a single Test match in India in 15 years and not a series in 25, a feat that, on paper, seemed unrealistic.

Many wondered if the likes of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, and Graeme Smith could fail in India, was it fair to ask Bavuma’s team to return with glory?

After all, apart from Kagiso Rabada, none of the names in the current crop of players have the numbers or the experience to be compared with the aforementioned greats of the game. However, against all odds, Bavuma and his young troops achieved the impossible, beating India in both Test matches and leaving behind a beleaguered Indian cricket side.

As great as that victory was, or the fact that even Graeme Smith’s Test team could not achieve the same feat, does it mean Bavuma’s team is the best the country has produced? Bavuma and his team are yet to conquer England, Australia, or New Zealand in their own backyards, feats that Smith’s team achieved.

Faf du Plessis’ Test team also returned some great victories. Who can forget the Test series Down Under, when Kagiso Rabada and others led South Africa to a famous 2-1 series victory in 2016? These are feats that Bavuma’s team is yet to achieve, and perhaps challenges they may never have the opportunity to take on, given how England, Australia, and India deprive the rest of the Test-playing nations of Test cricket.

Given how the Proteas looked sharper in the second Test in Pakistan and in India compared to their performances in the first Tests of those respective tours, one can only imagine how much better they might have played had they been scheduled to play three or five Test series, as the big three often do.

Nonetheless, with what they have, Bavuma has made the most, beating every opponent in his path as the captain leads a record-breaking track record, remaining unbeaten in 12 Test matches, including one drawn Test.

Perhaps the challenges that will settle the conversation are next year’s inbound tours of Australia and England. Australia are set to tour at the beginning of the season for three Tests, and while South Africa beat them in 2018, the Aussies will be a steep challenge, especially with the likes of Steve Smith, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc hungry to prove a point.

On the other hand, England are scheduled to tour towards the end of 2026, and given that the English have been winning Test series here in South Africa, beating them will further elevate Bavuma’s team.