The home team South Africa started their second innings needing 305 runs to win this test match. The opener of their team Aiden Markram’s wicket fell when he was at just a single. Keegan Petersen contributed 17 runs and out. Rassie van der Dussen was dismissed cheaply with eleven runs. Keshav Maharaj out with eight runs. Quinton de Kock † added 21 runs to 305 runs target. Till tea, day 5 Temba Bavuma 34 not out and Marco Jansen 5 not out.
He was the captain of the South African team Dean Elgar, who scored 77 runs off 156 deliveries. He smashed twelve boundaries in his beautiful innings. Right after the tea break, the remaining three South African wickets fell too quickly. Jasprit Bumrah bowled 19 overs and took three wickets. Mohammed Shami also took three wickets but in seventeen overs. Mohammed Siraj and Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets each.
Kohli win the toss and chose to bat first.
At the start of the year, India breached Gabba, they end the year by breaching yet another fortress. Yes, this South African side is going through a transformation but they are always formidable at home. And when the second day was washed out, many thought a draw was the most likely result. But the Centurion pitch changed its nature, as it does mostly, on day three. Eighteen wickets fell that day, which kind of made up for the lost time.
India couldn’t score many in their second innings but their first-innings lead meant South Africa were chasing a daunting 305. Elgar fought hard on a difficult pitch and against a relentless Indian attack, Bavuma showed fight as well but that was all the South African batting line-up had to offer. Shami was precise, Siraj energetic and Bumrah magical as India took only 68 overs to wrap up the South African innings.
India vs South Africa Highlights today, Thursday 30-12-2021, 1st Test, India tour of South Africa from SuperSport Park, Centurion.
India team: Rahul, Agarwal, Pujara, Kohli (capt), Rahane, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Thakur, Shami, Bumrah, Siraj.
South Africa team: Elgar (capt), Markram, Keegan, Dussen, Bavuma, Quinton (wk), Mulder, Maharaj, Rabada, Ngidi, Jansen.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
India: WDWLW
South Afric: WWLLW
Match Timings: 08:00 GMT | 10:00 Local
Umpires – Adrian Holdstock, Marais Erasmus
TV Umpires – Allahudien Paleker
Match Referee – Andy Pycroft
Reserve Umpire – Bongani Jele
Match number – Test no. 2443
Post Match Presentation.
Dean Elgar
It was always going to be a bit tough. We could have executed our lengths better on day one but we fought back after lunch but then we let it slip a little bit after tea. Our bowlers were brilliant after that [on day three]. It was great to restrict India. But with the bat in hand, we let ourselves down quite a lot. I say the difference was the batting. I think we can have a little sit-down and strategize going forward. I don’t think we did a lot wrong.
Virat Kohli
We got off to the perfect start we wanted to. Getting the result in four days shows how well we played. It’s always a difficult place, South Africa, but we were clinical with bat, ball, and in the field. A lot of credit goes to Mayank and KL and we were in pole position at 270 for 3 after day one. We had a lot of belief in our bowling unit to get the job done. We spoke about it in the change room.
Since he didn’t bowl much in the first innings, it helped the opposition get those extra runs. Just the way these guys bowl together, it’s just a hallmark of our team getting a result from that position. Shami is an absolutely world-class bowler, among the top three seam bowlers in the world for me. Very, very happy for him to get 200 wickets and have an impactful performance.
KL Rahul is the Player of the Match
It was just grit and determination, I really wanted to get my team off a good start. The opening stand was crucial. It’s been more about my mindset, I have worked a little bit on my technique, I worked really hard on my game when I was out of the team for a couple of years. It’s all coming together now. The discipline I think is the biggest contributor. Virat just mentioned that our fast bowlers have shown great heart, not just today but over the last two-three years. It’s still the first game of the series, we want to take this confidence into the series and win another Test in a few days’ time.
