Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Siraj breach Proteas fortress
Centurion, December 30
India’s fast bowlers destroyed a listless South Africa with their relentless attack to fashion an emphatic 113-run win in the first Test here today, setting the team on the path to a first-ever Test series win in the country.
If 2021 started with India breaching Fortress Gabba in Brisbane in Australia, there couldn’t have been a better end for the year for the team as it brought down South Africa in Supersport Park, which has been a citadel for the home team for the longest time.
The target of 305 on a track with a lot of uneven bounce was always out of the question for a South African unit that is low on quality, and today’s events unfolded as per the script. The home team folded up for 191 in 68 overs to give India a 1-0 lead in three-match series.
Such was the command of the Indian pacers that they even took rain out of the equation, with one full day’s play being lost due to the wet weather. It was a pity to see South Africa, which boasts of some of the greatest names of the sport, fail to post even 200 runs in both innings, with skipper Dean Elgar’s 77 off 156 balls today failing to save the team.
Quinton de Kock will miss the next Test as he will be away on paternity leave, and this will make it easier for India to claim their first series win in South Africa, after six series defeats and one draw since they first toured here in 1992.
Pace like fire
For India, the four pacers took 18 wickets between them and Ravichandran Ashwin wrapped up the South African tail in the second session to complete the formalities.
The three men who won the match for India were vice-captain KL Rahul for that first innings hundred that gave the team a big platform, the supremely talented Mohammed Shami (5/44 and 3/63) who had a match-haul of eight wickets, and the peerless Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah is perhaps Indian cricket’s biggest gift, a freaky fast bowler who can provide moments of magic, as he did on the fourth evening to put India right on top.
Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur were the perfect supporting cast in the win, one of the most comfortable overseas victories for Virat Kohli’s men.
Indian bullies
“They bullied South Africa in their backyard and it’s not often seen,” said former South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel.
Bumrah (3/50) set the tone for the final morning by removing the dogged Proteas skipper Elgar (77 off 156 balls) while Siraj (2/47) and Shami also got into the act, with the knowledge that some rain was forecast for the afternoon session.
Having gauged the variable bounce of the track, skipper Elgar knew that survival would not be an option and he needed to counterattack today. With the stodgy Temba Bavuma (35 not out off 80 balls) for company, 36 runs were added in the first 45 minutes but the best part was that there was no let-up in the intensity of the Indian attack as Kohli and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant were constantly heard cheering the bowlers on.
Shami dropped Elgar off his own bowling, but Bumrah was relentless, asking probing questions of the Proteas skipper. With one delivery that was angled into the left-hander, he beat the skipper and umpire Adrian Holdstock had an easy LBW verdict on his hands.
De Kock (21) came in and hit a couple of delicious shots off Bumrah, trying to knock off as many runs as possible off the target. But when the hardworking Siraj bowled one with the scrambled seam, just like the first innings, de Kock tried to cut with very little room and played on.
Wiaan Mulder (1), who had a forgettable match with no wickets, got a Shami ball that was way above his skill-set: It pitched on a length, landing on the seam, and Mulder played as if it were coming in, but it straightened enough to kiss the outside edge of his bat before landing into Pant’s gloves. Ashwin then removed fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi off consecutive balls in the 68th over, setting off celebrations among the Indian players. — PTI
