Will Bavuma’s underdog story get its fairytale ending?

When Temba Bavuma went out to bat on Day 3 of the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia on Friday, the odds were firmly against him and his side.

South Africa had shaved off 70 off the 282-run target at the expense of two wickets, a commendable start to their chase, but still looked on the back foot considering they were up against a fearsome Australian attack who had them all out for just 138 in the first innings.

Bavuma, who had made a dogged 36 in the first innings, was almost out for two when Mitchell Starc squared him up with a delivery that straightened a tad and extracted some extra bounce, inducing an outside edge that went quickly to Steve Smith, who was standing close-in at the slip cordon.

In the milliseconds between the ball taking the edge and reaching Smith, an underdog story that had begun years prior was at risk of reaching an abrupt conclusion.

The protagonist of that story is Bavuma, the South Africa captain who, to most, never quite fit the bill.

The right-hander is a reliable middle-order batter who churns out runs at an above average rate. Although there is nothing spectacular about his batting, his international credentials are nothing to sneer at.

The problem is, when compared to the great South African middle-order batters who had captained the side in the years prior, like Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Bavuma doesn't match up.

On top of that, his five feet four inches stature in the South African side looks out of place where the average team height is near the six-feet mark.

Not just Bavuma, even his South Africa side was deemed unworthy of facing the Aussies in the WTC final, as many felt they just don't match up to the Pat Cummins-led unit.

Most experts didn't give the Proteas a chance in the final, saying they had the easier path to the final, were just not good enough to rattle the defending champions, and the odds against them are just too high.

But what most had overlooked, or perhaps didn't bother to consider, is that their captain Bavuma has made a career out of beating the odds.

In 2014, at the age of 24, he made history by becoming the first Black batter to break into the South African Test side.

But it was far from smooth sailing for him in Tests as in the star-studded South African unit, he was often in-and-out of the side.

It took some time, but Bavuma eventually established himself as one of the mainstays of the South African middle-order, so much so that in 2023, he was handed the captaincy armband, becoming the first player of his skin tone to lead the Proteas in the five-day format.

The right-hander then went on to lead his unfancied side to the final of the WTC against a much more fancied Aussie unit.

After two-and-a-half days of back-and-forth action at Lord's, it had come down to him and the well-set Aiden Markram to build a partnership and get their side closer to the target in the final session on Day 3.

The opportunity of leading the South Africa senior side to their first ICC title in this millennium was in the offing. But in the second ball of the 20th over, Bavuma made a mistake: he edged a ball to Smith and his story was at risk of reaching a premature conclusion.

But fate intervened as the ever-reliable Smith made an error. He couldn't handle the pace with which the ball came hurling towards him and dropped the chance, giving Bavuma a second life.

The 35-year-old batter's own body then began to betray him as he pulled his hamstring and was seen limping to take runs.

Other batters might have taken the safer option, walked off as retired hurt and come back later.

But not Bavuma.

Bavuma persevered through the pain for his unbeaten 65, battled alongside Markram, who hit a career-defining hundred, and together took South Africa to 213-2 at stumps, 69 runs away from making history.

Now, if this were a fictional story, the writer would've perhaps added a few more twists on the fourth day to spice up the climax, but in the end it would be Bavuma hitting the final runs and hoisting the WTC Mace.

But as this is real life, Bavuma may be out first ball on Day 4 and South Africa could end up choking under pressure in an ICC event final for the umpteenth time.

Bavuma and South Africa's date with destiny will commence soon, and the outcome will be known in a few hours, but for now, let us all applaud the fight of the South Africa captain, whose grit has brought his side inches away from making history.