"We salute you buddy"- Twitterati hails Temba Bavuma after his valiant 144 in losing cause in 2nd ODI vs West Indies 

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma's sensational century in the 2nd ODI against West Indies went in vain. Due to a lack of support from the other batters, South Africa lost the match by a margin of 48 runs on Saturday (March 18) at Buffalo Park in East London.

West Indies batted first in the contest after winning the toss and notched up a massive total of 335/8. Captain Shai Hope (128*) led his pack from the front by hitting an enterprising century. Multiple West Indies batters got off to decent starts but failed to score substantially.

Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma gave the Proteas a quick-fire start with their 76-run opening partnership in 8.4 overs. Kyle Mayers dismissed De Kock (48) and opened the floodgates. Bavuma kept playing at the same tempo after his opening partner's departure, but the rest of the batting line-up collapsed at the other end.

He waged a lone war and tried his best to keep his side afloat with a magnificent century. Alzarri Joseph brought an end to his career-best ODI innings off 144 off 118 by dismissing him in the 42nd over to pull the curtains on the chase.

Fans lauded Temba Bavuma's fighting spirit after the defeat and slammed the other batters for dismal returns. They took to Twitter to express such emotions. Here are some of the best reactions:

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"Temba Bavuma played a brilliant innings" - West Indies captain Shai Hope

Speaking at the post-match presentation, winning captain and player of the match Shai Hope applauded his counterpart Temba Bavuma for his valiant knock in the chase. He was glad to witness his side maintain composure and eventually end up on the right side of the line.

"I actually forgot how difficult a 50-over game was. I haven't played since August. Good game in the end! Temba Bavuma played a brilliant innings. Catches win matches. We put ourselves under pressure in the back end. That's how it goes at times. Just nice to see that we could pull out the victory at the end.

Shedding light on the key moments during the contest, Shai Hopecontinued:

"I thought it was a difficult pitch to sta rt on, batsmen coming in found it challenging. We got a decent score in the end. You have to play the situation well. For us, soaking the pressure was key, especially when we lost Pooran. The way that they were going, we needed to take wickets. Nice to see Alzarri come back after that start that he had. It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish."

South Africa and West Indies will next face off in the 3rd ODI on Tuesday (March 21) in Potchefstroom.