Virat Kohli and Co on Thursday broke South Africa’s Fort Centurion to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series. South Africa suffered their third Test defeat at Centurion and this was the first time an Asian team had broken their fortress. India have played major cricket in the Test format over the years with South Africa being the ‘last frontier’ for them and Thursday’s win has boosted their confidence to carry out the quest.
India beat South Africa in all three departments in a 113-run victory. It was not an individual talent but the collective performance of the players that led India to victory.
The architects of India’s historic victory at Centurion are as follows:
KL Rahul
India’s flamboyant opener continues to impress everyone with his brilliant batting. Rahul laid the foundation for India’s massive victory with a scintillating 123 in the first innings. The talented batsman showed others how to bat on the difficult surface of the Centurion, but none of them were able to emulate it. Rahul showed a lot of patience in the first few hours of the game as he batted on a tough spell from Kagiso Rabada & Co. The 29-year-old took over the bowlers after the ball got old. In the second innings as well, Rahul faced the most deliveries by an Indian batsman – 74 balls. Even after his century, Rahul said that he surprised himself with his calm nature.
India vs South Africa: full coverage , photos , the schedule , result
Mohammed Shami
The premium pacer for India in the bowling department stood with 8 wickets on a rough surface that didn’t offer much swing. Shami troubled South Africa’s batsmen in the first innings with his excellent seam position and strong wrists, where he claimed his sixth five-wicket haul. The 31-year-old took charge of the Indian pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah (in the first innings), who remained off the field for a long time after spraining his right ankle on the follow through. Shami made them just 197 through the South African batting order as India took a healthy 130-run lead in the first innings. The ace pacer continued to trouble the Proteas batsmen in the second innings and claimed three wickets as India bowled them out for 191 runs to register a historic win.
Jasprit Bumrah
Paes Spearhead missed most of the time after spraining his ankle in South Africa’s first innings but he made sure to make a big impact in the second innings. The premier pacer made a splash in the final few minutes of the match with the crucial wickets of Rassi van der Dussen and Keshav Maharaj. Kohli broke the gritty stand between Elgar and Van der Dussen by bringing Bumrah back into the attack in the final 30 minutes of the day and the 28-year-old delivered with a straight Jaffa, which broke the latter’s defence. Whereas, at the end of the day, Bumrah did what he does best, bowled a toe-crushing yorker and this time nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj fell victim to the same. The Proteas player had no clue how to deal with it and the ball destroyed the stumps in a flash to put India on top. And he dealt a big blow to South Africa by dismissing captain Dean Elgar, who was probably the only thing between India and victory at the time. Elgar’s wicket opened the door for India’s victory.
Read also | Virat Kohli and Co Breach Fort Centurion
mohammed siraji
The young pacer did not take many wickets in the Test match, he kept his heart open in every over. When he had the ball in his hand he was never short of energy. He worked hard against the Proteas batsmen and asked tough questions throughout the Test. He ended the match with only 3 wickets which could not justify his contribution to the win. He bowled with a lot of aggression which troubled the batsmen of the host team. With every performance, Siraj is cementing his claim to be an integral part of India’s rich fast bowling attack.
Mayank Agarwal
The opener once again displayed his brilliance and scored 60 runs on the first day of the Test match. Mayank took the pressure off his opening partner and good friend KL Rahul, who was batting with a cautious approach initially. Mayank shared a 117-run partnership with Rahul to give India a strong start in the first match of the series. However, a controversial decision by the third umpire ended his stay midway. Before the match, Mayank had a huge responsibility to fill the shoes of Rohit Sharma, who missed the series due to a hamstring injury, and the 30-year-old had done well in the opening Test.
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