Rainbow song

 

A NEW chapter has been written in the history of Test cricket after the World Test Championship title victory of South Africa at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Though winning a tournament cannot be termed as a historic achievement per se, the fact that South Africa have managed to overcome all odds, all perceptions, and a string of heartbreaks makes the occasion absolutely special. The win over Australia on the fourth day of the WTC final has brought a massive sense of relief and redemption for the team whose run in big-ticket tournaments was, almost everytime, marred by some bizarre eventualities. A lot many ceilings have been broken at Lord’s when South Africa chased down 282 with five wickets to spare.

 

The title win gave a perennial-parched team a long-awaited perch, it swatted the chokers tag in a flash, it fulfilled the dreams of almost two generations who turned up for South Africa since readmission in 1991, and it was achieved by a black captain who was once labelled as a negative product of the quota system in South African cricket. In one single Test that mattered in the longest format of the game, the Proteas demolished all the layers surrounding them and emerged as a new hope for millions back home. It was simply a song of redemption that Temba Bavuma orchestrated with a bunch of white, black, and also brown cricketers who formed the Rainbow Nation in its true essence. The WTC victory has brought a personal joy for Bavuma, who had polarised opinion in South African cricket. He was consistently reminded of the quota system after each failure. His captaincy was seen as defensive and inconsistent. Not many had given Bavuma’s team a chance to make the finals.

 

When India were hot favourites to reach their third consecutive WTC summit clash, Bavuma’s team had its task cut out to ace the permutations and combinations. They had to win six Tests on trot to make the final against Australia while India had the easier job of winning any three of the eight games left in the cycle. The hard task was achieved silently as the world focused on the top teams and the biggest challenge was conquered without fuss thus completing a fulfilling journey for South African cricket. It was a quirk of fate that South Africa defeated Australia on the English soil for an ICC title. Just when the world was replaying the 1999 World Cup reels of Herschelle Gibbs dropping Steve Waugh which ultimately cost South Africa the cup in England, the memory was mostly erased by Bavuma’s men to script the biggest catch in South African cricket history. A poetic justice has been done, achieved by a group of understated cricketers. They turned out to be fierce fighters, surprising the mighty Aussies to start resurrection of the game in South Africa. The WTC title is set to give fillip to cricket in the Rainbow Nation. Most importantly, it will also bring a whiff of fresh air in Test cricket.