Centurion [South Africa], December 28 (ANI): Nandre Burger’s sensational spell combined with South Africa’s all-rounded performance secured a win by an innings and 32 runs for the Proteas against India in the first Test on Thursday at the SuperSport Park.
Burger with his lethal bouncers and precise line and length pushed India batters back against the wall.
A game that seemed to be headed for the fourth day was concluded on the third day itself. India batters were no match for South Africa pacers as the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Burger ran through India’s entire batting line-up.
Virat Kohli was the sole batter who knew how to churn out runs on a surface which proved to be too much for the rest of the batters.
After a dismal start to their second innings, South Africa struck India hard by removing Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahu in quick succession.
After Burger removed Ravichandran Ashwin for a golden duck, India’s fate was more or less sealed.
Jasprit Bumrah’s runout following a brilliant effort in the field by Dean Elgar caused a mood of dismay. A brilliant review from the South Africa team saw Mohammed Siraj gloving the ball straight to the wicketkeeper.
Prasidh Krishna struggled hard but Jansen got the better of Kohli (76) which brought an end to India’s struggle within the first three days.
Earlier in the day, India skipper Rohit Sharma’s dreadful run in South Africa, especially against Kagiso Rabada continued. Rabada’s inward angling delivery left Rohit baffled as he failed to read the line which resulted in the ball crashing into the stumps.
The veteran right-handed batter got removed for an eight-ball duck and this dismissal marked his 7th in 11 innings against Rabada.
Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to leave the delivery, but the ball glanced off his glove and went straight to the wicketkeeper.
Shubamn Gill looked set to spend a good amount of time on the field but his attempt to play a shot across the straight line failed. Marco Jansen picked his first as Gill departed with a score of 26(37).
India trailed by 101 runs.
The visitors looked in the perfect spot to end South Africa’s innings quickly after bagging their 7th wicket in the first session.
But the tail-enders along with Jansen accumulated a couple of more runs which took their score to 408. Jasprit Bumrah removed the final two batters leaving Jansen alone with an unbeaten score of 84*.
He received a standing ovation from the fans and Dean Elgar came in to greet the batter before he entered the dressing room.
Earlier in the innings, Elgar’s farewell series continued to showcase the perfect combination of aggressiveness combined with temperament.
The left-handed batter scored 185 off 287 deliveries which consisted of 28 boundaries. Shardul Thakur eventually removed the batter before he could reach a much-deserved double century.
India kicked off the session well with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj keeping things tight at the beginning, inducing batters to play shots and eventually beating them.
Siraj breached David Bedingham’s defence and sent him back for 56*87). Prasidh Krishna joined the attack and dismissed Kyle Verreynne for 4. The wicketkeeper batter attempted to cut the ball but gloved it straight to KL Rahul behind the stumps.
From that point, Elgar and Jansen stitched up a 111-run partnership which once again shifted the tides in favour of the Proteas.
Thakur got the much-needed breakthrough and Ashwin a couple of overs later ended Gerald Coetzee’s short cameo of 19 off 18 balls.
Overall, Shardul and Prasidh leaked runs while Jansen’s highest Test score has further bolstered South Africa’s position in the first Test.
The first Test was completely dominated by South Africa. Rabada’s five-wicket haul put India on the back foot. KL Rahul played a counter-attacking knock of 101 but it was soon overshadowed by Elgar’s breathtaking 185.
Brief Score: India 245 & 131 (Virat Kohli 76, Shubman Gill 26, 18*; Nandre Burger 4-33) vs South Africa 408 (Dean Elgar 185, Marco Jansen 84*; Jasprit Bumrah 4-69). (ANI)
